12 NUPENG CONTEMNORS REPORTEDLY MISSING FROM KIRIKIRI CUSTODY AFTER COURT-ORDERED COMMITTAL
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By Aishat Momoh. O.
Fresh concerns have emerged in the ongoing contempt proceedings arising from the leadership crisis within the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), following reports that 12 contemnors were not found in custody at the Kirikiri Minimum Security Correctional Centre despite a valid court order committing them to prison.
The development came to light on Thursday when counsel to the claimant/applicants, Azubike Solomon Akpe, visited the Kirikiri Minimum Correctional Centre to verify compliance with a Form 53 Warrant of Committal issued by the Lagos State High Court. Officials at the facility reportedly informed him that the contemnors could not be located in custody.
Those said to be unaccounted for include Comrade Tayo Aboyeji, Chairman of the Lagos Zonal Council of NUPENG; Comrade Saheed G. Adigun, Zonal Chairman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers Workers (PTDW); Comrade Akeem Ogunmola, Treasurer of PTDW; Comrade Adekunle Akinlaja, Secretary of PTDW; and Comrade Augustine Egbon, National Chairman of PTDW.
Others are Comrade Musbau Olatunbosun, Chairman of the LPG Unit; Comrade Amusa Sulaimon, Chairman of the NANGAS Unit; Comrade Sanni Auwal, Chairman of the A.A. Rano Oil Unit; Comrade Nurudeen Ajibade, Chairman of the Rain Oil Unit; Comrade Sikiru Onifade, Chairman of the Techno Oil Unit; Comrade Rasheed Oyetola, Chairman of the NIPCO Unit; and Comrade Muse Lawal, Chairman of the Mobil Unit.
The incident occurred less than 24 hours after court sheriffs reportedly executed the warrant of committal issued by Justice Lateefa Okunnu and handed the contemnors over to officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) at the Kirikiri axis.
Sources said the situation has heightened earlier concerns allegedly raised by the court sheriff during the handover, during which he accused some correctional officers, led by one Oluwole Taiwo, of failing to comply with standard operating procedures governing the lawful admission of inmates committed by court order.
Reacting to the development, Akpe described the situation as unprecedented, stressing that persons committed for contempt are expected to remain in custody until they purge themselves of the contempt or are otherwise released by an order of court.
As of the time of filing this report, the Nigerian Correctional Service had yet to issue an official statement clarifying the whereabouts of the contemnors or indicating whether they were transferred, released, or held in another facility.
Meanwhile, the claimant/applicants are said to be preparing to formally draw the attention of the Lagos State High Court to the development, as questions continue to mount over the enforcement of Justice Okunnu’s subsisting orders.
The dispute stems from a long-running leadership and autonomy crisis within NUPENG, in which the court had earlier affirmed the constitutional right of a specialised unit to operate autonomously within the union and restrained the NUPENG leadership from interfering in its affairs.
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