Sealed premises: Court adjourns peace corps commandant’s trial

AFederal High Court in Abuja has indefinitely adjourned the trial of the National Commandant of the Peace Corps, Dickson Akoh who is facing charges of extortion.

Justice John Tsoho ruled yesterday that the trial could not continue until the time the Police complied with an earlier order to unseal the premises of the corps.

The judge held that the police as an institution set up by law, must not be seen disobeying the law, court orders and judgments.

“Let the point be made that the hand of the police is not clean by refusing to obey court judgments and at the same time seeking the defendant to obey provisions of the law,’’ he said.

The judge agreed with the argument of defence counsel, John Ochogwu that the police flouted a valid order made by the court.

Ochogwu had argued that Section 36(6) of the 1999 Constitution empowers the court to bar a party from being heard when such a party is in contempt of the court, because “he who goes to equity, must go in clean hands.”

Akoh is facing 13-count charge bordering on extortion and money laundering preferred against him by the Federal Government over recruitment of applicants into the Peace Corps.

Meanwhile, the police through the Commissioner of Police in charge of Legal, David Igbodo has stated that the force was no longer interested in pursuing the matter against Akoh.