The Akwa Ibom State High Court, Abak Local Government Judicial Division, has sentenced police officer Mrs. Juliet Attah to three months in prison for failing to comply with a court order to produce a tricycle she seized from tricyclist Mr. Elijah Akpan in 2024.
Presided over by Justice Eno Isangedighi, the ruling followed a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by the tricyclist against the officer, who is attached to the Abak Divisional Police Station.
In her ruling, Justice Isangedighi ordered that Mrs. Attah serve three months at the Ikot Ekpene Custodial Centre of the Nigeria Correctional Service, without the possibility of fine.
The decision was made subsequent to a motion on notice submitted by the applicant on March 12, 2025, after counsel Victor Nkanang, Esq., requested the court to commit the officer to the Custodial Centre for contempt, arising from her noncompliance with a court order issued on November 18, 2024. A subsequent order was also made on February 24, 2025, which was opposed by the respondents’ counsel, Blessing Philip, Esq.
The details of the case indicate that on November 18, 2024, the court had instructed Mrs. Attah to return the tricycle, identified by the mark AFK 854 WX, which she had seized from the applicant, pending the resolution of the motion on notice. She was to comply within seven days; however, upon receipt of the order, she reportedly refused to comply and continued to retain the tricycle.
Counsel for the applicant, Victor Nkanang Esq., informed the court that he had sent a letter to the officer with the court's order attached. Instead of complying, Mrs. Attah allegedly sent a policeman to the applicant’s home to arrest him, although the applicant was not present.
Mr. Nkanang also noted that he had served Form 48, notifying Mrs. Attah of her disobedience to the court order and offering her an opportunity to correct her actions, yet she remained uncooperative.
Additionally, the court issued another order on February 24, 2025, requiring the divisional police officer of Abak to bring Mrs. Attah before the court to explain her failure to comply. However, both the divisional police officer and Mrs. Attah failed to appear on the court's return date, March 3, 2025.
In her judgment, Justice Isangedighi found the motion to have merit, concluding that Mrs. Attah had willfully disobeyed a lawful court order, emphasizing the court's authority to impose penalties on acts that undermine its authority and disrupt the administration of justice.
Justice Isangedighi directed the court's director to send a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the order to the Attorney General of Akwa Ibom State to ensure enforcement and instructed that the notice of committal be forwarded to the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State, the Police Service Commission, and the Inspector General of Police.
The respondents in the suit included Victor Dickson Okon, Chief Uwemedimo Usoroh, Engineer Ephraim Asifa, Mr. Vincent Williams from the Department of State Security (DSS) in Uyo, Inspector Sonny from the State CID in Uyo, the Director of State Security Service in Uyo, and the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom State.
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