The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ahmed Barde may be jailed for contempt of court as a House of Representatives member-elect, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, has filed proceedings against him over alleged constant harassment and disobedience to a court order.
An Abuja High Court had earlier in the year granted an order restraining the Imo State governor, Hope Uzodinma, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, the Commissioner of Police and the Department of State Security, DSS, from inviting, investigating, arresting or detaining Ugochinyere, who is also the spokesperson of Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP.
However, in an alleged flagrant violation of the order of the court, the Imo State Commissioner of Police caused an illegal letter, which has now been quashed by the court, to be issued inviting Ugochinyere for investigation.
In a swift reaction to the action of the Police, Ugochinyere applied to the court to issue Forms 48 and 49 which are meant for the commencement of committal proceedings for contempt of court.
The court, agreeing with Ugochinyere, ordered that the forms against the Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali and the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Admin), Ukachi Opara, be served on them through substituted means by delivering them to the legal department, or any officer or staff of the Nigeria Police Force at its national headquarters, Louis Edet House, in Abuja.
The Commissioner of Police is expected to appear in court on April 14, 2023, to explain why he should not be committed to prison for three months for violating the order of the court.
