A High Court Sitting in Minna, the Niger State Capital, has ordered the arrest of the Chief of Army Staff, General Faruk Yahaya for contempt.
The order was made in response to a notice submitted to the court in accordance with Order 42, Rule 10 of the Niger State High Court Civil Procedure 2018, according to Justice Halima Abdulmalik, who issued the warrant and presided over the case.
The COAS must remain in custody until the contempt has been “purged” from him, the judge ruled, adding that Yahaya will be kept in Minna correctional custody for claims of court order on October 12, 2022.
Also, the judge issued that the Commandant Training and Doctrine Command, Minna, Major General Olugbenga Olabanji, be arrested and imprisoned for a similar offense.
The Judge then adjourned the case to December 8 for continuation.
It would also be recalled that on November 29 a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja sentenced the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, to three months in prison for disobeying a court order.
The IGP’s conviction followed a suit filed by Patrick Okoli, a police officer who was unlawfully and compulsorily retired from the Nigerian Police Force.
The court also ordered the applicant to pay N10 million in special and general damages for the unlawful, illegal, and unconstitutional denial of his (Patrick’s) rights and privileges as a Senior Officer of the Nigeria Police Force from 1993 to the present.
