Sand Dealers Petition IGP To Enforce Judgement As Delta CP, Others Compromised On Asaba Dredging Business

The Sand Dealers Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Asaba, Delta State, have called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to raise a special team to enforce a court judgement delivered in their favour by a Benin High Court.

This is coming on backdrop of allegations of compromise by the Commissioner of Police Delta State Command who had allegedly failed to execute the court judgement overtime.

The group alleged that the Commissioner of Police, Delta State Police Command had overtime flouted the directive given by the Inspector General of Police to enforce the several court orders obtained from different courts.

The court rulings empowered the sand dealers with the right of ownership to do dredging business at the river banks in Asaba, the Delta State capital.

Addressing newsmen at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Secretariat, Asaba, on Thursday, the President, Sand Dealers Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society, Asaba, Mr. David Ossai, alleged compromise of the court judgements by the Delta Police Command and several others who are currently carrying out dredging activities on beaches in Asaba against subsisting court judgements.

They said that they have been witch-hunted by State Police  since 1999 having been issued a license by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to conduct business activities in the Niger river.

According to the dealers, the failure of police to enforce the judgements have led to death of four members of the cooperative who were killed as a result of fabricated petitions, of which several efforts to seek justice have been swept under the carpet.

“A total arrest of 53 was made on our members, out of which we were remanded at the Federal Prison Ogwashi- Uku for 38 times by the Nigeria Police” he said.

The dealers chairman also disclosed that the continuous arrest and imprisonment of members have been used as means to disorganize them as illegal while unrecognized individuals have taken over their business since 1999.

The chairman claimed that himself alongside eight  of his members were unlawfully imprisoned in 2011 until they were discharged and acquited by a court of competent jurisdiction in 2018, after they were denied bail on several occasions. 

The Chairman during the briefing tendered documents to journalists, specifically referring to one containing a legal advice by the Office of the Inspector- General of Police (IG) dated 3rd May 2019, where the AIG Zone 5 and the Delta State Commissioner of Police were instructed to obey the court order of the Federal High Court of Benin in suit No. FHC/ B/ CS/ 157/ 2000, to arrest the suspects and charge them to court for conspiracy, forceable entry, attempted murder amongst others

He also tendered another one dated 26th July, 2019, where the AIG in a legal advice tagged “Case of Flagrant disobedience of orders of the Federal High Court With Impunity Criminal Trespass, Forcible Entry, directed the Delta State Police to obey the court order.

Mr. Ossai, lamented that despite all orders given, no action has been taken by the police to abide  by the judgement of the court, stating that, despite four judgements and 22 orders of court in their favor, the Police has done nothing

He alleged that their inaction amount to a perceived compromise of the Police, stating that the present Commissioner of Police in Delta state has made no attempt in carrying out the orders of the IGP and the court.

“Some police are stationed in our beaches to protect those who are in unlawful occupation of our beaches, threatening to arrest us if we come close to the beach” he asserted.

As a result of this, the dealers called on the Office of the Inspector General of Police (IG) to set up an independent body to ensure the implementation of the directive given.

Meanwhile, the State Police Command has dismissed the allegation, saying that the command was not aware of the said court judgements by the group.

State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Onome Onovwakpoyeya, who made the claim, however promised to investigate the issue.