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.
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