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IGP Faces Fresh Contempt Charge
The National Industrial Court in Abuja has threatened to jail the Inspector General of Police, Alkali Baba Usman, over his persistent disobedience to order of the court.
The reaction of the court followed a suit instituted by four senior-rank police officers from courses 33, 34, and 35 who were compulsorily and unlawfully retired from police service.
The affected officers who sued the IGP on behalf of themselves and other affected members of Course 33, 34, and 35 are chief superintendents of Police, Egong Egwu Egong, Omeh Felix Okechukwu. Paul Obot Umoh and Superintendent of Police, Galadima Bello who.
In the suit marked NICN/ABJ/21/M/2023 argued by Edwin Okoro on behalf of the retired police officers, the court had nullified the premature retirement of the senior police officers numbering about 20 and ordered the IGP and the Police Service Commission to immediately reinstate them.
However, the police boss and the Force Secretary who are the key defendants in the legal action were said to have bluntly refused to comply with the reinstatement order of the court.
The legal advice of the legal department of the Force Headquarters advising the IGP to comply with the order of the court was also said to have been rebuffed prompting Edwin Okoro, counsel to the aggrieved plaintiffs, to report the violation of the court order by IGP to the Industrial Court for remedy.
In an enrolled order issued by the court and endorsed by Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi, the court gave the IGP May 2 to appear before it and purge himself of contempt of court or be committed to prison in line with the provisions of the law.
The court held that the action of the IGP undermines the rule of law and is unbecoming of a senior official of the Federal Government official and an affront to the 1999 Constitution.
Justice Oyewunmi in the enrolled order said that the IGP, no matter his rank, was not above the law and would be made to respect the law when he acts as someone above the law.
The Judge in the enrolled order held that “it is evidently clear that the respondents, the Inspector General of Police and the Force Secretary have flouted the order of this court made on February 27, 2023, to appear before the court to show course why they should not be held in contempt of this court for their flagrant disobedience to the decision of the court even when their legal department had issued legal advice urging the IGP to comply with the decision of the court.
“It has become the attitude of government officials which include Nigeria Police Force to persistently flout or disobey orders of the court as if they are living outside of this nation or above the provision of the 1999 Constitution which operates as a guide to curb action and Inactions of the State in the country and it’s operators.
“The same Constitution has given courts in this clime, including this court, the inherent power to enforce the constitutional provisions ditto rule of law, against authorities and the people in the State called Nigeria.”
Rejecting the excuse by the defendants as lacking in merit and verbose, the Judge rebuked the possibility of the country becoming a Banana Island stating that “ a situation where the courts are degraded by disobedience to their orders would engender danger to the rule of law and God forbid that this clime will become like the proverbial Banana Republic.
“God forbid that and I say that again. It is in view of that that I discountenance the excuse, except the reason put forth respecting the Inspector General of Police. I emphatically disregard the excuse respecting the Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector General of Police Hafiz Inuwa.
“It is in view of this that before I proceed to hold them in contempt of this court, I give both the Inspector General of Police Usman Alkali Baba, and the Force Secretary, Assistant Inspector General of Police AIG, Hafiz Inuwa, the second chance of appearing before this court to show cause why this court should not proceed to find them guilty of being in contempt of this court.”
Justice Oyewumi thereafter fixed May 2, 2023, for the IGP and the force secretary to appear before the court.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.