Justice Ajoke Adepoju of an Abuja High Court on Tuesday threatened to send the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, to prison over contempt of court.



The judge said she premised her decision on the refusal of the IGP to comply with orders directing him to produce one Dahiru Yakubu Aliyu in court.



The suspect has, since January 7, been in detention at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Area 10, Abuja without being charged to court.



Delivering ruling on an originating motion filed by the lawyer to the suspect, Mr. Hassan Germa, Justice Adepoju ordered the police to release him unconditionally pending when it was ready to file a formal charge against him in court.



The court had also gave an order declaring the arrest and continuous detention of the suspect since January 7 without prosecution as “wrong, unconstitutional, and amounts to a violation of the applicant’s rights to personal liberty, fair hearing and freedom of movement as enshrined in Section 35, 36 and 41 of the 1999 constitution.”



Alternatively, the judge ordered that the applicant should be admitted “to bail upon such terms or conditions, pending when the respondents will file a formal charge against him.”



The court had also given an order for the respondents to pay the applicant the sum of N10m only for the wrongful arrest, detention, humiliation and psychological trauma occasioned by the arrest and detention.



The suspect, a final year student of Computer Science at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University of Science and Technology, Bauchi, was said to have completed his studies and awaiting his posting for the national youth service.



He invited and detained at Bompai Police Station, Kano on January 7 and later transferred to Abuja.







http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20110309504064

Blatant disregard of the rule of law.

If many can rise up to this kind of occassion it would help alot because so many are in police custody for too long with no charges, some dont even know what offence they commited at all I really appeal to the judge to order the arrest of the IGP if he fails to obey the court order.

Saying it, is NOT like doing it, I beg send am go jail, he deserve am.

About time. Infact a special jail deep in the sahara desert should be built not only for corrupt and law breaking police officers but also for their fellow politicians

Blatant disregard for the law. But seriously, who the f**k is the IGP to ignore a directive from a Judge. There are thousands of innocent people held in the prisons who have been denied their rights and priviliges, these men in black should be held responsible for this atrocities.

See the damage they are doing to a young graduate, since January 7 over 2months, the kid obviously has missed out on the NYSC orientation if he was due,

please send him to 150 years imprisonment.

Men in black!

This will bring some sense into the head of our law enforcerment agent that are not law abiding and are expected to make citizen abide by law

What is GEJ waiting for he should fire him immediately, afterall it was the same this regard for court order that cost the former IGP Onovo his job.

Even if d igp is charged with court contempt, who will effect his arrest? The same police under his control? Dats d Nigerian of today, loads and loads of impunity yet no sign of respite anytime soon

Pappij:

Blatant disregard for the law. But seriously, who the[b] be intimate with [/b] is the IGP to ignore a directive from a Judge. There are thousands of innocent people held in the prisons who have been denied their rights and priviliges, these men in black should be held responsible for this atrocities.

See the damage they are doing to a young graduate, since January 7 over 2months, the kid obviously has missed out on the NYSC orientation if he was due,

it is kinda funny the way nairaland changes your original words so they might end up making little sense. if u wan type the b word, it will change it to naughty woman.

byrron:

Even if d igp is charged with court contempt, who will effect his arrest? The same police under his control? Dats d Nigerian of today, loads and loads of impunity yet no sign of respite anytime soon

na true talk oo. we have a conundrum here.

our police are a bunch of human-rights-abusing pigs. i doubt if they have human rights in the curriculum of the police academies in Niaija.