Court Orders Police To Arraign Dismissed SP Within 14 Days

Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday ordered the police to charge a detained dismissed Suprintendent of Police, Victor Banor to court within 14 days or the court would be forced to grant him bail.

Justice Aneke gave the directive while delivering a ruling on an application filed by Banor, seeking to enforcement his fundamental right against the police, for unlawful detention.

According to the judge, he declined to grant the applicant bail because of the gravity of the alleged offence, but ordered the police to ensure that it charged the applicant to court within 14 days. Aneke also held that the continued remand of the applicant in prison custody was in breach of constitutional provisions which required a person to be charged to court within 48 hours. The court therefore, ordered that the applicant be charged to court within the time stipulated, or the applicant would be released on bail unconditionally. The judge then adjourned the suit to February 3, 2015, for report of compliance by the police.

Banor had filed the suit before the court on November 11, seeking enforcement of his fundamental rights against the police. The former police office joined the inspector general of police, the commissioner of police, Federal special anti-robbery squad, Adeniji Adele Road, Lagos, and the investigating police officer (IPO), DSP Solomon Igwe as respondents in the suit. In his application, the applicant argued that he had been held in custody for over eight months without any charge, and prayed the court to either order his release from prison, or direct the police to charge him before a court of law. Banor, had argued that his continued detention, violated his fundamental rights as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution.

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