Kaduna Court threatens to jail NDA commandant for disobedience

A Kaduna State High Court has threatened to jail the Commandant of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Maj. Gen. Muhammed Idris, for disobeying the order of the court on a landed property.

This was contained in Form 48 dated May 25, 2015, and signed by the Registrar of the Court, which was duly served on the Commandant of the nation’s foremost military university.

The court document titled, ‘Notice of Consequences of Disobedience to Court Order’, warned the Commandant of the consequences of disobeying court order or let alone rulings of the court on the land.

It said,  “To Major General Muhammed Inuwa Idris (Commandant of Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna). Take notice that unless you obey the directions contained in this Order, you will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to be committed to prison.”

It was gathered that the two contentious  property were both located in Barnawa Government Reserved Area, Kaduna, which formerly belonged to the NDA but were sold to the occupants, the late Mr. Joseph Kingo Lafidi and the late D. Akpam, who were then civilian staff of the military institution through the Federal Government’s Presidential Implementation Committee.

But  ‎the widows of the former NDA employees, Mrs. Elizabeth J. Lafidi, and Dorcas D. Akpam, were allegedly evicted from the property by the NDA authorities  in 2010.

They, however, decided to seek redress in court and the court ruled in their favour in April 2014.

The court judgment obtained on April 15, 2014, and made available to journalists in Kaduna on Wednesday, read in part,  “An Order of Perpetual Injunction restraining the defendant, especially the 2nd defendant(Nigerian Defence Academy), whether by themselves, agents, servants,workmen, officers, privies and assigns whomsoever and howsoever otherwise, from trespassing upon or disturbing the 1st and 2nd Plaintiffs peaceful enjoyment of the properties known as Nos. 11 Gongola Road, Flat 4, Barnawa GRA and 36A Gongola Road, Flat D, Barnawa GRA, Kaduna, respectively.”
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Counsel for the widows,  Lekan Oyerinde, said they were surprised that  after the execution of the court judgment and installation of the ‘original owners’ of the property by the court bailiffs on May 21, 2015, armed soldiers, on the order of NDA Commandant, forcefully evicted the widows from the property, started erecting fence around them and put armed guards there.

Oyerinde said,  “The widows were wrongfully evicted, despite a court order forbidding same on December 22, 2010. Their husbands had bought Federal Government houses as civilian staff on offer from Federal Government before passing away.

“They did not buy under any monetisation scheme but under leasehold of Federal Government properties as were offered – among several others – by Presidential Implementation Committee set up by the Federal Executive Council to dispose off Federal Government houses as designated.”