Court summons police over Lloyd’s international passport

    
A State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Thursday directed the Officer-in-Charge of Legal Prosecution Unit of the State Police Command to appear before it to explain the reason why the police confiscated the International Passport of the Leader of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Chidi Lloyd.
The court, presided over by Justice Letam Nyodee, maintained that the legal officer must appear before it on February 13, 2014, to give clarification on why the police had refused to release the passport.
The international passport of the House Leader was said to have been seized by the police after he was granted administrative bail as a result of an auto accident involving his (Lloyd) driver in December 2013.
Lloyd, who represents Emohua State Constituency in the House of Assembly, is facing trial for attempted murder of a lawmaker, representing Obio/Akpor State Constituency, Mr. Michael Chinda, after a free-for-all in the chambers of the Assembly.
Justice Nyordee’s directive came after the lead counsel for the accused, Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN), sought the order through an application, compelling the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, to release Lloyd’s international passport.
Nyordee, who ruled on Nwofor’s application, decried the refusal of the police to release the international passport, even when they (police) were aware that the document was part of the bail condition given to the lawmaker in the attempted murder trial.
“The Commissioner of Police, who is the complainant in this matter, is aware that the passport is part of the bail condition. The passport was released to the accused on the 13th of December 2013 for which he was supposed to return on the 23rd of January, 2014 on the order of this court,” the presiding judge said.