The Nigerian Bar Association, Kano branch, has condemned the alleged refusal of the Kano State Police Command to comply with a court order directing the release of a detained legal practitioner, Ahmad Tijjani Miko.
Chairman of the NBA Kano branch, Usman Umar Fari, made the allegation in a statement issued on Thursday.
According to him, a Kano State High Court had ordered the immediate release of Miko in a suit filed against the Commissioner of Police and three others.
Fari alleged that the lawyer had been held in police custody for seven consecutive days without being arraigned before a court.
He further claimed that despite the court order being duly served on the Commissioner of Police in Kano, the police authorities allegedly ignored the directive and continued to detain the lawyer.
The NBA chairman described the development as a dangerous attack on the rule of law and judicial authority.
“When those entrusted with enforcing the law become violators of the law themselves, the foundation of civil society is threatened,” he said.
Fari stated that the alleged disobedience to the court order was not only a violation of the lawyer’s fundamental rights but also an affront to the judiciary capable of encouraging lawlessness.
He stressed that citizens could lose confidence in the legal system if security agencies failed to respect judicial pronouncements.
The NBA therefore called for the immediate and unconditional release of the detained lawyer in compliance with the court’s directive.
The association also urged the police to operate strictly within the provisions of the Constitution and uphold the principles of the rule of law.
