Chief Magistrate Adebayo Dupe of an Ilorin Magistrate Court has ordered the arrest of the state Commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Abbas Mohammed, for failing to appear before the court in an ongoing assault case involving two NSCDC officers.
While issuing the order, the Magistrate directed the Kwara State Commissioner of Police, Adekimi Ojo, to arrest the commandant and bring him before the court on the next adjourned date.
The directive followed an application by counsel to Aladodo Abdullateef Nurudeen, who allegedly suffered assault from two NSCDC officers, Ajayi Williams Gbolahan and Busari Babatunde. Nurudeen’s lawyer, Prof. D.A. AriyoOsu, told the court that the commandant had ignored earlier court orders requiring him to produce the accused officers and to appear personally before the court.
According to Ariyo-Osu, the commandant’s refusal amounted to contempt of court, describing it as a deliberate disregard for lawful judicial instructions. He therefore urged the court to issue a warrant for his arrest.
However, counsel for the NSCDC officers, A. Imam, informed the court that a petition had been sent to the Kwara State Chief Judge requesting the reassignment of the case, stating that the command had lost confidence in the presiding court. He added that the matter should be transferred for proper handling due to the loss of confidence.
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Dupe ordered the arrest of the NSCDC commandant and directed that he be produced in court on June 10. The case originated from a complaint filed by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ilorin Branch, against the two NSCDC officers over the alleged assault of Nurudeen at the NSCDC office in Ilorin on April 10, 2026.
The NBA alleged that the Nurudeen, a lawyer, who was on official duty, was attacked after identifying himself as a legal practitioner. He was reportedly dragged into a room and beaten by the officers, sustaining injuries in the process. The association described the incident as an unprovoked abuse of power and stated that the NSCDC commandant was present during the assault but failed to intervene.
The NBA further accused the officers of committing assault, intimidation, and causing harm under provisions of the Penal Code Law. At earlier proceedings, the prosecution complained that the commandant had repeatedly failed to obey court orders requiring him to produce the defendants.
This led to applications for both a warrant of arrest against the officers and a summons for the commandant. Defense counsel, M.M. Kolo, had previously apologized for the commandant’s absence, stating that one of the accused officers had gone missing after disciplinary action was initiated, while the second could not be properly identified.
