Fresh concerns have emerged in the contempt proceedings involving the leadership crisis within the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) following reports that several contemnors were not in custody at the Kirikiri Minimum Security Correctional Centre despite their formal handover to officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).
When the lawyer of the claimant/applicants, Azubike Solomon Akpe, visited the Kirikiri Minimum Correctional Centre on Thursday to verify compliance with the Form 53 Warrant of Committal issued by the Lagos State High Court, they were reportedly informed that the contemnors could not be found in custody.
Those reportedly unaccounted for include: Comrade Tayo Aboyeji, Chairman, Lagos Zonal Council of NUPENG; Comrade Saheed G. Adigun, Zonal Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers Workers; Comrade Akeem Ogunmola, Treasurer, Petroleum Tanker Drivers Workers; Comrade Adekunle Akinlaja, Secretary, Petroleum Tanker Drivers Workers; Comrade Augustine Egbon, National Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers Workers; Comrade Musbau Olatunbosun, Chairman, LPG Unit; Comrade Amusa Sulaimon, Chairman, NANGAS Unit; Comrade Sanni Auwal, Chairman, A.A. Rano Oil Unit; Comrade Nurudeen Ajibade, Chairman, Rain Oil Unit; Comrade Sikiru Onifade, Chairman, Techno Oil Unit; Comrade Rasheed Oyetola, Chairman, NIPCO Unit; Comrade Muse Lawal, Chairman, Mobil Unit
The development came barely 24 hours after court sheriffs executed the warrant of committal issued by Justice Lateefa Okunnu and handed the contemnors over to officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service at the Kirikiri axis.
The latest twist has intensified concerns earlier raised by the court sheriff during the handover process, during which he allegedly accused correctional officers, led by Oluwole Taiwo, of compromising standard operating procedures required for the lawful reception of inmates committed by court order.
Azubike Akpe, described the situation as unprecedented, noting that once a warrant of committal is executed, the contemnors are expected to remain in custody until they purge themselves of the contempt or the court directs otherwise.
As of press time, officials of the Nigerian Correctional Service had yet to issue any official statement explaining the whereabouts of the named contemnors or clarifying whether they were transferred, released, or detained in another facility.
Meanwhile, the claimant/applicants are said to be preparing to draw the attention of the Lagos State High Court to the development, as questions mount over the enforcement of Justice Okunnu’s subsisting orders.
The case arose from a protracted leadership and autonomy dispute within NUPENG, in which the court had earlier affirmed the constitutional right of a specialised unit to operate autonomously within the union and restrained NUPENG leadership from interference.
