Reps ask police to vacate Peace Corps’ premises

Members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions have asked the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to vacate premises of the Peace Corps of Nigeria.

The police sealed off the premises since February 2017. The lawmakers said the action was in disobedience to series of court judgments to that effect.

Hearing a petition brought by the Chairman, Organization for Civil Society, Justice and Equity, Mr Olayemi Success, Chairman of the committee, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta (Abia State) described the action by the police as “executive rascality.”

The Commandant-General of the Peace Corps of Nigeria, Mr Dickson Akoh told the committee that the corps’ office had been sealed by the police since February 2017 under questionable circumstances.

The IGP, represented by ACP Henry Njoku, told the committee that the police was not properly served and that the matter in question was still pending in the Court of Appeal.

Counsel representing the Peace Corps drew the attention of ACP Njoku to Justice Tsoho’s judgment of January 15, which he noted, had not been appealed.

Furthermore, a member of the committee read letters said to have been written by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the Director for Public Persecution (DPP), mandating the police to unseal the Jabi office complex of the corps. The members therefore wondered why the police have not complied with these rulings, “whether the police are above the law.”

ACP Njoku pleaded with the committee members to be given time to study the documents and apprise the IGP with the committee’s position. The lawmakers therefore directed that the IGP, Ibrahim Idris and the Attorney-General of the Federation, appear in person before the committee on February 27, to explain their positions on the matter.