Television crime presenter, Aisha Tosan, has asked a Lagos High Court to nullify an order directing police formations in Nigeria to ostracise her.
In the suit, filed yesterday on her behalf by activist lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, the broadcaster, wants the court to restrain the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, from taking any step that could jeopardise her right to disseminate information.
The presenter of Crime Fighters, Police and You, contended that a recent interview she granted to a national newspaper on controversy dogging the police force does not amount to a crime and should not result in a denial of access to its facilities, since the latter is a public institution.
She therefore wants the court to determine whether the IGP is empowered by law to exclude a citizen from associating with the police for merely expressing an opinion.
The suit, which is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing, seeks “an order nullifying, voiding, cancelling and/or invalidating the directive from the first respondent to all police formations in Nigeria from relating, associating with or partaking in any of the activities and programmes of the applicants, on account of the exercise of their freedom of expression as guaranteed by law.”
Meanwhile, policemen who joined the force with lower qualifications before obtaining higher ones have petitioned President Buhari over alleged abandonment of their promotion.
In a letter, signed by one Abubakar Gambo, the policemen said: “We were shocked when suddenly the police high command and the Police Service Commission abandoned the entire process and commenced fresh recruitment of civilians for Assistant Superintendents of Police.
After the screening and examination of the civilian recruitment at the state command level, successful candidates were sent to Police Staff College, Jos, for training, while we, serving members of the force that have acquired higher qualifications in the service, with working experience of ten years and above, were made to follow the due process of examination and interview, but were ignored and abandoned.”
They appealed to Buhari to direct that the promotion be completed.
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