Suspended NDLEA worker battles bosses

Mrs. Bode George

A suspended worker of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Price Benjamin Saliu Ikani, has instituted a contempt charge against his top officials of the Agency.

The charge touches the Chairman of NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, the Director General of the Agency, Mrs. Roli Bode-George and others. But Giade and others had quickly retorted that they did not flout any court order. The Agency also described the charge as defective and an abuse of court process.

According to the Agency spokesman, Mitchel Ofoyeju, the suspended worker, Assistant Commander, the Ikani applicant, was suspended by the Agency for acts amounting to falsehood and prevarication, disobedience to lawful authority and conduct prejudice to discipline.

Ofoyeju said: “Rather than subject himself to NDLEA rules of engagement, the applicant had gone to court alleging a contempt charge against his principals.”

NDLEA Director of Prosecution and Legal Services, Mr. Sunday Nbona said that: “Ikani, who is involved in series of litigations against the Agency while still on the employment of the Agency continued to behave as an officer above the rules of engagement in the Agency, a situation which is not only dangerous but inimical to discipline in a security organization like the NDLEA.” The Agency also stated that Mrs. Bode-George was not the Director General of the Agency when the alleged order was made in 2010.

Furthermore, no Contempt Proceedings or Application by way of Form 48 was served on her with details of the order she is alleged to be in contempt according to the rules of procedure.

“The applicant has only chosen to include the DG’s name in the application to achieve cheap attention in the eye of the public,” said Ofoyeju. “In addition to the above, the Notice of Preliminary Objection filed against the contempt proceedings by the Agency shows that the contempt proceedings filed against the Director General and others have no ground upon which it can stand. The order alleged to have been disobeyed was in Suit no. FHC/L/CS/1130/13 pending before the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos.”

The Agency wonders how a contempt proceeding could be initiated at the National Industrial Court in a matter not before it but before the Federal High Court.

Ofoyeju explained that Ikani had on October 29, 2010 instituted an action at the Federal High Court, Lagos in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1327/10 challenging his retirement for the sole reason that he had served as Attorney General of Kogi State between 2003 and 2005 before reporting to his duty post as a staff of the Agency.

The court ordered that he should be reinstated pending the determination of the suit and the Agency gladly complied. Ofoyeju noted: “In August 2013, Prince Ikani again approached the court for an order restraining the Senior Disciplinary Committee of the NDLEA from adjudicating on a disciplinary case against him. The applicant who is fond of seeking undue attention is only trying to raise unnecessary dust by involving the name of the Director General in a matter that purely borders on the discipline of an employee by his employer- the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.”