The Nigerian Army has declined response after a court ordered the remand of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, and the Commandant, Training and Doctrine Command, Minna, Major Gen. Stevenson Olabanji, for alleged contempt.
A High Court sitting in Minna, Niger State, had issued a warrant of arrest and subsequent remand of both Yahaya and Olabanji in the custodial centre.
The case was said to between one Adamu Makama and 42 others, versus the governor of Niger State and seven others.
Counsel for the plaintiffs, Mohammed Liman, had prayed the court to send the army chief and commandant to the custodial centre for disobeying an order made on October 12, 2022.
Ruling on the application, Justice Halima Abdulmalik, said, “An order is made committing the Nigerian Army Chief of Staff, General Farouk Yahaya, and the Commander, Training and Doctrine Command, Minna, i.e the 6th &7th respondents, into the custody of the correctional centre for contempt of the order of this honourable court made on 12/10/2022.”
The judge ordered that the army chief and commandant should remain in custody until they purged themselves of the contempt.
The case was adjourned till December 8.
Several attempts to get the reaction of the Nigerian Army were not successful.
Calls and a text message to the phone number of the Director of Army Public Relations, Brig. Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, were not answered.
The ruling is coming barely a few days after the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to three months’ in prison over a similar offence.
Another Federal High Court in Abuja also ordered the remand of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa, at the Kuje Custodial Centre.
