The Akwa Ibom State High Court, Abak Judicial Division, has sentenced a police officer, Mrs. Juliet Attah, to three months imprisonment for contempt after she failed to comply with a court order to produce a seized tricycle.
Justice Eno Isangedighi, presiding over the case, ruled that Attah, who is attached to the Abak Divisional Police Station, had willfully disobeyed multiple court orders directing her to present a tricycle confiscated from a tricyclist, Mr. Elijah Alphonsus Akpan, since 2024.
The officer, as gathered by WorldClass247News, will serve her sentence at the Ikot Ekpene Custodial Centre without an option of a fine.
The ruling followed a motion filed by the applicant’s counsel, Victor Nkanang, on March 12, 2025, requesting the court to commit Attah to prison for her continued defiance of orders issued on November 18, 2024, and February 24, 2025. Despite opposition from the respondent’s counsel, Blessing Philip, Esq., the court upheld the motion.
The legal dispute began when the court, on November 18, 2024, ordered Attah to produce the tricycle with identification mark AFK 854 WX, which she had seized from Akpan. The order required compliance within seven days, but Attah reportedly ignored it and retained possession of the tricycle.
Further escalating the situation, Akpan’s counsel submitted a letter attaching the court’s directive to Attah, but rather than complying, she allegedly led a team of police officers to Akpan’s residence in an attempt to arrest him.
In response to her continued defiance, the court issued another order on February 24, 2025, directing the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Abak to produce Attah in court. However, on the return date, March 3, 2025, both Attah and the DPO failed to appear before the court.
In her ruling, Justice Isangedighi found Attah guilty of deliberately disregarding a lawful court order, stating that such actions undermine the judiciary’s authority.
“The court has inherent powers to punish any act that affects its dignity in the administration of justice,” the judge declared.
To ensure compliance, Justice Isangedighi ordered the Director of the Court to send a Certified True Copy of the ruling to the Attorney General of Akwa-Ibom state. Additionally, she directed that a notice of committal be forwarded to the Commissioner of Police, Akwa-Ibom state, the Police Service Commission, and the Inspector General of Police.
The court has scheduled the substantive hearing of the case for June 2, 2025, when both parties are expected to adopt their final submissions.