Inspector
General of Police, has been summoned by a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan,
Oyo state, to come before it an plead why he should not be punished for
flagrant disobedience to an order of court in a case involving the Oyo monarch,
Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.
Contempt
proceeding were filed before the court on August 22, 2016 wherein it was argued
that the IGP had constantly ignore the order of court to investigate
allegations brought against Oba Adeyemi.
Form
48 from the court was served on the IGP in June last year, warning him of the
consequences of disobeying court order.
In
the Form 49, served on August 22, the incumbent IGP was asked to show cause he
ought not to be punished by imprisonment after his office repeatedly disobeyed
court order.
"You
are hereby required to attend the court on the first mentioned day to show
cause why an order for your committal should not be made", the court paper
read.
The
matter emanated from Justice Ayo Emmanuel Court, which on December 15, 2014
granted an order of mandamus, following an ex parte motion, brought before it
by Jacob Oluokun and Sulaiman Ishola, seeking an order mandating the Police to
investigate criminal allegations against Adeyemi.
The
allegations are contained in a March 18, 2014 petition to office of the IGP.
The
petition titled: “Unprecedented criminality, flagrant human rights violations,
bomb planting, gun running and unresolved assassinations in Oyo town, Oyo
state” was delivered to the IGP’s office on April 17, 2014.
The
application for mandamus with the suit No: FHC/IB/CS/54/2014 was filed at the
Federal High court, Ibadan, by the applicants’ counsel, Biodun Abdur-Raheem on
July 16, 2014, two months after the police declined actions on the petition.
Messrs.
Oluokun and Ishola, are from Isale-Oyo community with which the Alaafin has
been at loggerheads since 1992, when the head of the community, Amuda
Olohunosebi, then the Ashipa of Oyo land, was allegedly murdered.
But
almost two years after the court gave its order, the Nigerian Police is yet to
comply.
According
to petitioner’s counsel, “successive IGPs have refused to obey the order (to
investigate the Adeyemi) even after two letters of reminder had been sent to
him on January 5 and January 21.
“There
has not been Police action despite preponderance of facts and evidence which
made the court to compel the Police to investigate the monarch in the first
place” Abdur-Raheem added.
“We
are now suing the Inspector General of Police for contempt of court”, he told
journalist
Abdur-Raheem
however alleged that the IGP may be shielding the said monarch because of his
membership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According
to the petitioner counsel, the Monarch, who ought to be father to all in Oyo
state, is a registered and card carrying member of the ruling APC.
“His
membership of the APC may not be unconnected with reason the IGP is shying away
from executing the order of court. The traditional ruler holds APC membership
card number 01000881 and he may have registered with the party to hide from the
law otherwise, why would a traditional ruler be a registered party member which
entitles him to contest for any office on the platform of the party”,
Abdur-Raheem questioned.