Court orders police to pay N11.2million as judgement debt to Peace Corps

Justice SylvAnu$ Chinedu Oriji of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has issued a garnishee order attaching the money belonging to the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the purpose of settlement of judgment debt incurred by the security agency in a suit against it.

The garnishee order directed the CBN to remove N11,270,000 from NPF account, number 0020054161043 maintained at the CBN to pay the Incorporated Trustees of Peace Corps of Nigeria (PCN) and its National Commandant, Ambassador D!ckson Akoh who secured the judgment against the police.

The N11.2 million was awarded in favour of the PCN and four of its officers who are the judgment creditors by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja in a judgment delivered against the NPF on March 26, 2014.

The National Commandant of the Peace Corps, D!ckson Akoh, was said to have prevailed on lawyers not to enforce the judgment in the interest of the cordial relationship between his organisation, the police and other arms of security agencies.

However, the board of Trustees of PCN was said to have resolved to enforce all the existing judgments against the police, in view of the alleged continued antagonism, harassment, arrest, detention and intimidation of officers and men of the Corps.

Justice Oriji issued the garnishee order upon an ex-parte motion argued on behalf of the Peace Corps of Nigeria by Barrister Joseph E. Chukwuma.In an enrollment of court order dated March 17, 2017, signed by the judge and the court Senior Registrar, Mr. Akpabio Michael Brown, the garnishee was issued so as to satisfy the judgment debt awarded against police and in favour of the creditors comprising Mr. Shuaib, Mr. Peter Ojoma and Miss Joy Obakachi.

The court had on 2014, declared that the directives, instructions, signals and orders issued to all police zones, officers and agents by police to ban and disrupt the activities of the Peace Corps were unlawful and unconstitutional.

The court in the judgment declared that the detention of the officers of the Peace Corps at the Force Criminal Investigation Department in Garki and Apo Legislative Quarters police station for 29 days was unlawful and unconstitutional.

The judgment held that Peace Corps was a bona-fide legal association duly authorised by law to carry out its functions with the aim of realising its aims and objectives and that the seizure of its properties by police was also unlawful and unconstitutional.