The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has sentenced the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali-Baba, to three months in prison for disobeying a valid court order issued in 2011.
The presiding judge, Mobolaji Olajuwon, issued the ruling on Tuesday following a suit filed by a former police officer, Patrick Okoli, who claimed he was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigerian Police Force.
“If at the end of the three months, the contemnor remains recalcitrant and still refuses to purge his contempt, he shall be committed for another period and until he purges his contempt”, the court ruled.
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According to reports, Olajuwon, handed the sentence to the IGP on Tuesday, November 29 and held that the IGP had refused to comply with the order despite the fact that the Police Service Commission (PSC) has recommended Okoli’s reinstatement into the security forces.
The court also ordered general and special damages of N10 million to be paid to Okoli for the illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional denial of his rights and privileges as a police boss since 1999 till date.