An Ilorin High Court has summoned the Inspector General of Police, Mr.
Ibrahim Idris, to appear before it on Wednesday next week to justify the
continued detention of Lekan Alabi, Personal Assistant to Kwara state
Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed, arrested over the April 5, 2018 armed robbery
in Offa.
This is as the lead counsel to the suspect, Adelodun Ibrahim, a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) bemoaned the failure of the police to release
another suspect over the same incident, Alhaji Babatunde AbdulWahab the
Chief o Staff to the governor, who has been granted bail by another high
court in the state.
Adelodun, leading four other lawyers, told newsmen after yesterday’s
proceeding that the refusal of the police to obey the court order on
AbdulWahab was worrisome as it portends grave dangers to the deepening of
democracy and might lead to a loss of confidence in the fairness of the
police to handle such cases among the populace.
The police was not represented at yesterday’s proceeding although Adelodun
told the court they had been served all the processes related to the case.
The case was brought to Ilorin following the refusal of a Federal High
court in Abuja to hear it as the alleged crime was committed in Kwara
state.
Alabi has been in detention since May 28, 2018 and has not been arraigned
before any court of law, a development his counsel, Adelodun, argued is in
contravention of the provisions of Order 4, Rules 3 and 4 of the
Fundamental Rights enforcement procedure rules (2009) as well as Sections
34, 35, 36, 37, 41 And 46 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria.
Making the order at its sitting yesterday, Justice Adebayo Yusuf said
there was nothing in the constitution that allows the detention of a
suspect without trial for a period beyond 24 hours where there is a court
or 48 hours in environment where there is no court.
In a short ruling following the application by Adelodun for an interim
bail for the suspect pending the determination of the substantive
application, the court aligned with the position of the SAN but decided to
allow the police another opportunity to defend its position.
“The position of the law is as stated by the leaned silk, however I’m
inclined to hear from the respondent to come to court and show cause why
the applicant should not be released from their custody, since they have
been served the motion on notice”, the judge said adding that it is clear
that the police cannot change the constitution.
Adelodun had while moving the application pointed out that the detention
of the applicant for 60 days without trial is a prima facie case of a
breach of his rights to liberty as enshrined in section 35 (7) of the
constitution and pointed out that Section 122 of the Evidence Act empowers
the court to take judicial notice of the time involved in the exchange of
written addresses and affidavit by parties which can compound the
suffering of the applicant.
“We are not asking the court to declare our client guilty or innocent at
this stage but the police has no right to keep a suspect forever”, he said
citing the decision of the Appeal Court in the case of EFCC vs Akingbola,
(2015 NWLR p1470,pgh249,pp290) to buttress his submission.