Tobias Sylvester
The Inspector-General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu, has finally obeyed the repeated orders of the Federal High Court in Abuja, compelling him to produce Vijah Opuama, a governorship candidate in the November 16, 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa State.
KanyiDaily had reported that Opuama was arrested within the premises of the election petition tribunal in Abuja on August 15, 2020, by a team from the IGP’s Monitoring Unit and had spent over two weeks in custody.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo, had on August 3, 2020, and subsequently on September 2, ordered the production of the detainee in court, but the orders were shunned by the IGP.
The judge, on Monday, issued the third order, following the failure of the police to comply with the September 2 order which directed that the detainee be produced in court for Monday’s proceedings.
Justice Taiwo had threatened to summon the IGP to personally appear in court should he fail to obey the third order.
Opuama was produced from Suleja prison where an Upper Area Court in Zuba, Abuja, ordered him to be remanded after the police filed charges of resistance of arrest against him at the court on September 4.
Opuama’s lawyer, Mr Danaba Pius, told Justice Taiwo on Wednesday that the police “rushed” to arraign his client at the Upper Area Court after they were served the September 2, 2020 order, directing the production of the detainee in court on September 7.
But the police lawyer, Miss T.O. Amalaha, told the judge that the police had charged the detainee at the Upper Area Court before receiving the court order for the production of the detainee.
She added that the Upper Area Court ordered Opuama’s remand in Suleja prison after the arraignment.
But Opuama’s lawyer disagreed with the chronology of the events presented by Amalaha, and moved a bail application for his client.
The bail application was opposed by Amalaha, who also adopted the counter-affidavit filed by his clients canvassing grounds of why the court should not order the detainee’s release.
After hearing both arguments, Justice Taiwo fixed Thursday for ruling.
KanyiDaily recalls that a woman had also accused the IGP Adamu of harassing her family over her refusal to remain in a legally dissolved marriage with one Abubakar Musa, who happens to be her ex-husband and childhood friend of the police boss.
