Adeleke Drags IG to Court over Arrest, Detention

The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State last governorship election, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has dragged the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammed Adamu, to court over his arrest and detention in Abuja on May 6, 2019.

Adeleke had approached the Osun State High Court at Ikirun seeking his fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement at the court presided over by Justice Jide Falola on the order that the police should not arrest or detain him pending the determination of the substantive case filed before it.

Justice Falola had based his own ruling in an earlier court ruling by Justice I.E Ekwor of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who had granted Adeleke leave to travel out of Nigeria to the United States of America between May 7, 2019 and  June 9, 2019, for medical attention.

According to Justice Falola, who noted that the ruling of the Federal High Court has incapacitated the respondents from arresting or detaining the applicant, “A calm sober and judicial wisdom dictates that I allow the order made by my brother, Ekwor J. of the Federal High Court Abuja in Charge No: FHC/ABJ/CR/156/2018 on May 3, 2019, to continue to operate.

But on May 6, when the Osun State High Court order was made, Adeleke was arrested, detained and arraigned on issues bordering on his WAEC certificate and Testimonial issued by Muslim Grammar School in Ede, Osun State.

In a five-count offence, Adeleke was accused of allegedly presenting fake documents to contest the 2017 senatorial election which he won by defeating the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Mudashiru Hussein.

In the fresh suit, Adeleke, who dragged the IG, the Assistant Inspector of Police (AIG), Zone 11, Simon Lough; an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and John Faluyi, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), urged the court to further impress it on the respondents of the order made on the matter.

The applicant lawyer, Kanmi Ajibola, expressed dissatisfaction over the attitudes of the Nigeria police, saying despite the fact that the respondents were duly served the court order, they still went ahead to arrest and detain the senator.

In his ruling yesterday, Justice Falola issued form 48 against the police, asking them to take notice of the consequence of disobedience of court order, warning them that they would be guilty of contempt of court “and will be liable to be committed to prison.”

Meanwhile, in a 31-paragraph affidavit before the state high court and which was sworn to by the Principal of Muslim High School, Ede, Mr. Kalidi Adejare Abass, he gave vivid account of the several incidents on the matter, including his arrest and the “perpetual physical and psychological torture he was subjected to.”

He further claimed that on several occasions, he had been asked to “write a statement implicating the person of Senator Ademola Adeleke but I have refused to cooperate with the police on this.”

The case was again adjourned to June 17, 2019.