SUPOL, five others arrested for contempt, wrongful prosecution

The Kaduna State Chief Magistrate Court sitting at Chediya Road, GRA in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State presided over by Chief Magistrate Awwal Musa Aliyu has ordered the arrest of 5 Investigating Police Officers, SP Fatai Adeniyi, DSP Kabiru Salami, Inspector Jami’u Olaigbe, Inspector Amechi Augustine and W/Inspector Enechojo Jeremiah all attached to G.I.D, FCIID Annex Alagbon, Lagos other to be jointly arrested include one Chief Alabi Owoeye of Anti-Corruption Initiative, No 16 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, Lagos for contempt of Court.
Records made available from the Court stated that the Bench Warrant was issued under section 7 of Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Kaduna State, 2017.
The records explained that the warrants of arrest on the said Police Officers was informed by their act of defying the order given by the Court where it ordered for arrest  and arraignment of Chief Alabi Owoeye within 14 days instead of one Ibrahim Usman who was wrongly arrested and  arraigned before the Court.
The order read in part, “This Honourable Court has also meticulously gone through the case diary in respect of this case and it has been discovered that the Police have arraigned a wrong accused person before this Honourable Court in respect of this case.

“The person who now stands in the dock, as an accused person was unjustifiably arrested and arraigned before this Honourable Court. As rightly observed by the prosecution, the right person to have been arraigned as an accused person is one Chief Alabi Owoeye of No 16, Awolowo Road, Ikoyi Lagos, a member of an organization known as Anti-Corruption Initiative. He is the one who blew the whistle wrongly by giving false information to the Police to the effect that the nominal complainant in this case has allegedly illegally stockpiled Arms and Ammunition in his residence at G.R.A Sabon-Gari, Zaria, Kaduna State which turned out to be false in it’s entirety, based on the search conducted at the premises of the nominal complainant.
“When the search was conducted no Arms, Ammunitions or anything incriminating was found. The person who is now in the dock, wrongly arraigned before this Honourable Court as the accused person in this case was just the security guard of the premises of the nominal complainant.
“Accordingly, this Honourable Court hereby grants the oral application made by the prosecution for the actual person to be arrested and arraigned before this Honourable Court for prosecution and it is therefore, hereby ordered by this Honourable Court that the 5 IPOs in this case namely SP  Fatai Adeniyi, DSP Kabiru Salami, INSP Jamiu Olaigbe, INSP Amechi Augustine and W/INSP  Enechojo Jeremiah are hereby ordered by this Honourable Court to arrest and arraign Chief Alabi Owoeye before this Honourable Court within 14 days and this Court will finally discharge Ibrahim Usman who now stands as accused person in this case.”
The order explained that in the event that the said 5 IPOs failed to comply with it, on their part (5 IPOs) the Court would initiate contempt proceedings against them.
According to the order, at the last sitting, the case was adjourned to 3rdOctober this year for further compliance and further directives.
However, separate investigation revealed that the arrest and arraignment of the said innocent security guard who was discharged by the Court followed a 2 page petition to Inspector General by the nominal complainant through his Lawyer Mr. Nnaemeka Amaechina on what he termed unlawful invasion of his residence allegedly by the Police just to cover up.