Land dispute: Court orders arrest of Bayelsa CP for shunning court order

Gavel

From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

A Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa, has ordered the arrest of the state Commissioner of Police, for failing to comply with a court order.

The court order stemmed from an earlier ruling delivered on November 26, 2016, in suit number YHC/210/2014, which upheld a ruling from the Court of Appeal regarding an appeal identified by suit number CA/PH/170/2018.

The ruling favoured the nine families of Yenizue-gene community concerning a parcel of land in Asam that is currently utilised as the operational base for the state-owned security agency, Operation Doo-Akpo.

The families involved include Fabiri, Ayoko, Aku, Ugbon, and Obediah, along with the Sampson and Boye families of Yenizue-gene community in Yenagoa Local Government Area area of Bayelsa State.

During a press briefing on Friday, the lead counsel for the claimants, Ukunbiriowei Saiyou, confirmed that the court order to imprison the Commissioner of Police was issued following a ruling from the presiding judge, Honourable Justice R. Ajuwa, on December 27, 2024.

He indicated that the claimants initiated committal proceedings against the Commissioner of Police back in 2022 due to his noncompliance with a ruling from a competent court, but that the police refused to either appear for proceedings or challenge the various decisions of the court.

The application for committal was formally addressed in 2024, resulting in the court’s decision to incarcerate the commissioner.

He therefore urged the Inspector General of Police to take action to ensure the Commissioner of Police of Bayelsa State Command complies with the judgments issued by the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt on June 10, 2021, or face potential arrest.

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