The Kano Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association has condemned the alleged refusal of the Kano State Police Command to comply with a court order directing the release of a detained legal practitioner.
The Chairman of the association in Kano, Barr. Usman Umar-Fari, made the condemnation in a statement issued on Thursday in Kano, describing the action as a “blatant, lawless, and unacceptable disregard for the judiciary”.
He alleged that the Kano State High Court, in Suit No. K/M1210 between Barr. Ahmad Tijjani-Miko and Commissioner of Police, Kano State and three others, had on May 19, ordered the immediate release of Tijjani-Miko.
According to him, the lawyer was allegedly detained unlawfully for seven consecutive days without trial by the Kano State Police Command.
He said the court order was duly served on the Commissioner of Police in the state.
Umar-Fari, however, alleged that the police command failed to comply with the order and continued to detain the legal practitioner.
“When those who are paid by taxpayers to enforce the law become the frontline violators of the law, the fabric of civil society is fundamentally threatened.
“This flagrant disobedience is not just a violation of the detained legal practitioner’s fundamental human rights; it is a direct assault on the judiciary and a dangerous invitation to anarchy,” he said.
Umar-Fari said the action sent a wrong signal to the public that obedience to court orders was optional.
He stressed that the police, as an institution created by law, must operate within the provisions of the constitution.
“We will not stand by and watch the country slide into a state of institutionalised lawlessness,” he said.
The NBA chairman, therefore, demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the detained lawyer in compliance with the subsisting court order.