The Nigerian Correctional Service has vowed to deal decisively with any attempt to obstruct its officers from executing lawful court orders.
The Service which stated this while reacting to the case involving the Minister of Works, David Umahi and a lady, Mrs Tracynither Nicholas Ohiri, said that the defendant was lawfully ordered to be remanded at Keffi Correctional Centre in case No. CR/12/2026, by Magistrate Court 7, Wuse Zone 2, Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, on February 26, 2026, pending when she would perfect her bail conditions.
The Correctional Service said the action of the defendant and her supporters remain condemnable and will not be condoned, stressing that such actions constituted interference with lawful custody and undermines the administration of justice.
These were contained in a statement by Chief Superintendent of Corrections (CSC), Jane Osuji, Public Relations Officer of the Correctional Service, stressing that such actions carry serious legal and security implications, as they undermine the rule of law and pose risks to public order and institutional security.
Osuji emphasised that the Court ordered the defendant to be detained pending the perfection of her bail conditions, saying that in compliance with the order of the court, officers of the NCoS were frustrated by certain disgruntled individuals, including persons identifying themselves as civil society actors, who obstructed the officers from carrying out their lawful duty of conveying the defendant to the Keffi Correctional Centre.
The spokesperson of the Service also faulted reports that the detention documentation was irregularly processed, forged and manipulated, stressing that such allegations were entirely false, misleading, unfounded and aimed at distracting attention from the obvious act of disobedience to lawful order and the incitement of the public.
The Service therefore stated that no individual or group has the authority to override a subsisting court order or dictate custodial procedures.
Osuji said that the Nigerian Correctional Service remains committed to professionalism, restraint, and strict compliance with the law, thus urged members of the public and advocacy groups to pursue all concerns through lawful and institutional channels.
