Nigerian Correctional Service Vows to Crush Obstruction of Court Orders in Umahi vs Ohiri Saga Involving Sowore

The Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) has issued a stern warning to any individual or group daring to obstruct its officers from executing lawful court orders, declaring zero tolerance for actions that interfere with custody procedures or undermine the administration of justice, as demonstrated in the ongoing Umahi vs Ohiri case that has drawn in activist Omoyele Sowore.

In a statement reacting to a brazen incident on February 26, 2026, the Service condemned the conduct of defendant Tracynither Nicholas Ohiri and her supporters, who allegedly frustrated correctional officers tasked with remanding her at the Keffi Correctional Centre following a clear directive from Magistrate Court 7, Wuse Zone 2, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, in Case No. CR/12/2026.

Chief Superintendent of Corrections Jane Osuji, the Service’s Public Relations Officer, emphasized that the court had ordered Ohiri’s detention pending the perfection of her bail conditions, yet officers were met with resistance from disgruntled persons, including those parading as civil society actors, who blocked the lawful conveyance of the defendant to the facility.

The NCoS described such interference as carrying grave legal and security implications, capable of eroding the rule of law, inciting public disorder, and threatening institutional security, insisting that no amount of public incitement or false narratives will deter its commitment to professionalism and restraint.

Further dismissing viral reports alleging irregularities, forgery, and manipulation in the detention documentation as “entirely false, misleading, unfounded,” the Nigerian Correctional Service accused the purveyors of such claims of a deliberate ploy to distract from the core issue of flagrant disobedience to a subsisting court order.

The statement, released in Abuja, reiterated that neither individuals nor groups possess the authority to override judicial pronouncements or dictate custodial protocols, positioning the NCoS as a bulwark against anarchy in the justice system amid high-profile tensions involving figures like former Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi and rights activist Sowore, whose shadows loom large over the Ohiri matter.

The Service urged the public, advocacy groups, and all stakeholders to channel grievances through established lawful and institutional channels rather than resorting to obstruction or misinformation campaigns that could destabilize public order.