Osondu Christian, Dismissed Senior Police Officer Calls Upon Tinubu, Atiku, Obi For Intervention As Nigerian Police Personnel Disobeys Court Order
DSP Osondu R. Christian, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, who was dismissed from the Nigeria Police Force on March 26, 2019, has called on the ‘president-elect’, Bola Tinubu, former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, and his Labour Party (LP) counterpart, Peter Obi, to prevail on the Inspector General of Police to reinstate him as ordered by the court.
The news platform, Sahara Reporters had reported that the National Industrial Court, Abuja Division, in December 2022 ordered the IGP Usman Baba, to reinstate Christian, to his rank and pay him all his entitlements with effect from March 2019 when he was dismissed.
In the judgment delivered by Justice O. O. Oyewumi in suit No: FHC/NICN/ABJ/153/2022; between Osondu Christian Vs The Inspector General of Police & 2 Ors, the court held that “the decision of the Police Service Commission (PSC) as contained in its letter dated 22/07/2020 with Ref No.: PSC/1524/IV/5 reinstating the 1st respondent to his rank and entitlements in the Nigeria Police Force with effect from 26/03/2019 is valid, subsisting and binding on the Inspector General of Police.”
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It further said, “That the Court has the power to make an order mandating the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to direct the Inspector General of Police to comply with the decision of the PSC, pursuant to the provisions of Section 215(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).”
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The statement read further,
His Lordship thereafter directed the Inspector General of Police to reinstate the respondent forthwith and to pay damages in the sum of N10,000,000.00 for his display of executive recklessness and wilful disobedience to a statutory duty.
But the IGP asked the National Industrial Court to set aside its judgment ordering him to reinstate Christian.
The IGP in a court document filed in court by one David Sunday, a legal officer in the Legal/Prosecution Section of the Force Headquarters, sought three reliefs and formulated 13 grounds upon which it asked for the court to reverse its judgment in a suit numbered NICN/ABJ/CS/153/2022.
Part of the 13 grounds upon which the application was brought was that hearing notices on the matter were never served on the counsel representing the Respondents (IGP, NPF & Presidency) in this case.
However, Osondu through his lawyer had written to President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Inspector-General of Police to comply with the judgment as ordered by the court.
Months after the court ruling, Christian lamented that the police boss, in disobedience to the court order, had refused to reinstate him.
He said,
Please help me share until it gets to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, president elect of APC, Atiku Abubakar presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP) to speak on my behalf to the IGP to comply with the court judgment since October 2022. He is yet to comply
SOURCE: SAHARA REPORTER
