By Emmanuel Adeleke
Kogi State High Court has sent the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, to prison for disobeying court order.
In a judgement delivered on Monday, Justice R.O. Ayoola of the Kogi State High Court, granted the application for committal to prison of the EFCC chairman for disobeying a court ruling delivered on November 30, 2022, wherein Bawa was directed to produce the applicant in the case, Ali Bello.
The court also directed the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali, to effect Bawa’s arrest and remand him in Kuje prison for the next 14 days until he purges himself of the contempt.
Bello had dragged Bawa to court for arresting and detaining him illegally, with the court ruling in his favour. But EFCC to arraigned Bello for alleged money laundering three days after the ruling.
The EFCC’s application to set aside and stay execution on the ruling were refused for lack of merit.
The court had asked the EFCC Chairman to appear before it on January 18, 2023, to explain why he should not be jailed for flouting the order given on December 12, 2022, in the case filed by Bello against him and EFCC, as the 1st and 2nd respondents respectively.
It ordered that EFCC and Bawa be served the motion of notice together with Form 49 by substituted means.
The court also declared that the arrest and detention of the applicant in the face of a subsisting court order made by a court of competent jurisdiction and without a warrant of arrest “or being informed of the offence for which he was arrested” as unlawful, unconstitutional, and in contravention of the personal liberty and dignity of human person guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).
It ordered the respondents to tender an apology to the applicant in a national newspaper and awarded N10 million compensation to him.
The Form 49, issued on December 15, 2022, and addressed to Bawa read: “Take notice that the Applicant will on the 18th day of January, 2023, at the hour of 9 o clock in the forenoon or so soon thereafter, apply to this Court for an order for your committal to prison for having disobeyed the order of this Court made on 12th day of December, 2022, that:
“That arrest and detention of the Applicant on the 29th November, 2022 by the 1st and 2nd Respondents in the face of a subsisting Court Order made by a Court of competent jurisdiction and without a warrant of arrest or being informed of the offence for which he was arrested is unlawful, unconstitutional and contravenes the Applicant’s right to personal liberty and dignity of human person guaranteed under Chapter IV of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Articles 5 and 6 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“Perpetual injunction restraining the Respondents, their agents, servants, privies, or however called from further arrest, detention, harassment and intimidation of the Applicant.
“An order directing the Respondents to tender an apology to the Applicant in any of the National Daily having nationwide coverage for the illegal detention and harassment of the Applicant.
“An Award of the sum of Ten Million Naira as general damages jointly and severally against the Respondents for the unlawful detention and harassment of the Applicant.”
