- Judge warns of army arrest for IGP’s defiance
- Case linked to missing man abducted in 2017
- Police accused of ignoring multiple court orders
- Widow intensifies contempt proceedings
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has warned that it may direct the Nigerian Army to arrest the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, over persistent failure to obey court orders in a long-running case involving a man who disappeared after alleged police abduction.
Justice Binta Nyako issued the warning on Tuesday while hearing a contempt application filed by Nnenna Anozie, whose husband, Mr John Anozie, was allegedly abducted by police operatives in June 2017 and has not been seen since.
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Mrs Anozie told the court that her husband was taken in Lagos by officers attached to the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), who reportedly travelled from Awkuzu in Anambra State to carry out the operation.
More than eight years after the incident, Mr Anozie’s whereabouts remain unknown, with his family still without answers.
Since the disappearance, Mrs Anozie has pursued justice relentlessly, appearing before several courts and the #EndSARS judicial panels of inquiry in an effort to uncover the truth behind her husband’s abduction.
Her efforts resulted in multiple court orders directing the police to produce the missing man or, at the very least, identify and prosecute the officers allegedly involved.
In September 2025, Justice Nyako ordered the IGP to present the indicted officers and submit relevant case files linked to the abduction. According to Mrs Anozie, the police leadership failed to comply, prompting her to initiate contempt proceedings.
At Tuesday’s hearing, her lawyer, Vincent Adodo, detailed what he described as years of deliberate police defiance.
“Despite the avalanche of evidence, the IGP refused to produce the perpetrators,” Adodo told the court, adding that Forms 48 and 49 the statutory notices for contempt, had been duly served.
He also informed the court that Mrs Anozie travelled from Lagos to Abuja specifically to attend the proceedings.
Responding on behalf of the police, the IGP’s counsel, Stanley Nwodo, claimed he had only been served with Form 48 and cited confusion over the identities of the officers involved.
Justice Nyako swiftly dismissed the argument.
“That is not the point because there is a judgment,” the judge said.
She stressed that she would not hesitate to enforce the authority of the court if the disobedience continued.
“I have no difficulty granting the order to commit the IGP. I will ask the Chief of Army Staff to arrest him. I will not ask the police,” she declared.
Ordinarily, contempt warrants are executed by the police. However, the judge’s remarks suggested doubts about the willingness of the force to act against its own chief if such an order were issued.
