A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has restrained the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, and the Commissioner, Delta State Police Command, Hafiz Inuwa, from arresting and detaining former Minister of State for Education, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, in connection with an alleged case of dehumanisation involving four persons in his hotel, Signatious Hotel, Effurun, Delta State.
The order was handed down on Wednesday by Justice Taiwo. O. Taiwo in suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1267/2020, between Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, being the Applicant, and the Inspector General of Police and Delta State Commissioner of Police as Respondents.
The Applicant had sought five reliefs from the court, to wit:
· An interim order restraining the respondents whether by themselves, their agents, employees or whatever name called from threatening to arrest, and or detain, and or from arresting and detaining the applicant pending the hearing and determination of the Applicant’s application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
· An order directing the parties to maintain the status quo ante bellum, pending the hearing and determination of the enforcement of the fundamental right of the applicant.
· Leave to serve the second respondent (Delta State Commissioner of Police) by substituted means, among others.
The application was filed on behalf of Gbagi by Nkem Okoro and N.W. Nimi of Dynamic Options Chambers.
Apart from the restraining order, the Court also gave the Respondents 14 days to file a response and fixed October 16 for hearing of the case.
In another development, Adamu in a September 29 memo in reaction to a call for urgent intervention by Gbagi in a “Case of Extortion, Incitement to Breach Public Peace and Criminal Defamation of Character,” directed the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the IGP Monitoring Unit to handle the case.
The memo, signed by the Principal Staff Officer to the IGP, DCP Idowu Owonunwa, referenced: CB: 7000/IGP-SEC/AB/VOL.504/307, was in reaction to the content of the letter by Gbagi dated September 28, 2020 from Dynamic Option Chamber.