By Adebiyi Adedapo & Henry Tyohemba, Abuja |
The family of Mr Patrick Okoli, a police officer who was wrongly dismissed from the service about three decades ago, has appealed to the Nigerian Police Service Commission to pay him his entitlement of the patriarch.
Okoli who is now battling with stroke-induced oral impairment and other underlining ailments could not speak when LEADERSHIP visited his residence in Gwagwalada, the Federal Capital Territory.
Speaking on his behalf, his wife, Mrs Comfort Okoli told our reporter that “they retired him in 1986, so he went to court and won, and they reinstated him in 1987. They retired him again around 1992 and again he went back to court and they gave a judgement he should be reinstated but they did not.
“They never told us the reason why he was dismissed up till now. We are still going to court and I want the Nigerian police to pay him his entitlements as directed by the court. The court judgement even said they should pay him N10 million as damages and other things,” she said.
Okoli who started work first in Niger State then went to Benin, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Kano, Lagos, Kaduna and Bauchi was dismissed as a CSP.
The family said despite several law suits against the then Nigeria Police Council (now the Police Service Commission) and the Attorney General of the Federation, nothing has been done, adding that many courts in their judgments quashed the letter of compulsory retirement and ordered that Patrick be re-instated with “all rights and privileges with effect from the date of his retirement but the Nigerian police won’t do anything.
The family is, however, crying to the general public to intervene and save her husband as the family needs a lot of money to manage his failing health.
Mrs Okoli urged authorities to facilitate her husband’s promotions and entitlements be paid to enable him be at par with his erstwhile colleagues, who are now Deputy Inspectors-General of Police, in line with the judgment of the court and the directives of the Police Service Commission.
Since 1994, Okoli has obtained two court judgments ordering his reinstatement and promotion to the apprioprate rank, but the judgements were ignored.
The latest of the judgments was delivered on October 21, 2011 by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, which directed the IGP to comply with the previous judgment and the advice by the Police Service Commission for the reinstatement and promotion of the applicant.
According to family source, the Legal/Prosecution Section of the Force Headquarters, had in a response to Adamu’s March 18, 2019 request for legal opinion, also advised compliance with the court judgments.
However, contrary to the advice, a counter-affidavit later filed against the suit on behalf of the IGP, stated that Police “did not in any way disobey any order of court as the applicant has not attended the mandatory management course which will enable him to be promoted to the management rank he is seeking.”
Source: leadership.ng
