The Kwara State branch of the Nigerian Bar Association has rejected an apology reportedly offered by two officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps accused of assaulting a lawyer, insisting that the officers must first obey a subsisting court order directing their appearance.
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-Summer-IDRI-Masterclass.jpg")
The officers, identified as Ajayi Gbolahan and Busari Babatunde, were said to have written to the victim, Nurudeen Abdullateef Aladodo, expressing regret over the incident and promising that such conduct would not happen again.
However, the NBA maintained that the apology could not override an existing judicial directive compelling the officers to appear before the court.
Chairman of the Kwara NBA, Suleiman Kosemani, said the association remained open to hearing the officers’ side of the story, but would not compromise the integrity of the judicial process.
“There is an extant court order directing them to appear, and that order is sacrosanct. It must be complied with first,” Kosemani said.
He explained that any dialogue or reconciliation could only be considered after compliance with the court order, adding that the apology letter may only help reduce tension around the matter.
“Afterward, we will convene a stakeholders’ meeting to determine the way forward. But this does not affect the civil action we instituted seeking monetary compensation for our colleague,” he added.
Kosemani stressed that lawyers, as custodians of the rule of law, could not be seen disregarding court orders or encouraging shortcuts around due process.
The controversy has continued to generate reactions within the legal community, with senior lawyer Yusuf Olaolu Ali, SAN, strongly condemning the alleged assault and what he described as a growing culture of impunity among uniformed personnel.
Ali said the incident reflected lingering authoritarian tendencies from Nigeria’s military era.
“What happened to our colleague is a carryover from military rule. We left military dictatorship years ago, but many people in uniform still behave as if they are superior to civilians,” he said.
According to him, abuse of power by security personnel threatens public confidence in state institutions and undermines the respect attached to official uniforms.
“Wearing a uniform is a privilege. Once you use that privilege to commit wrongdoing, you desecrate the uniform and even the country itself.
“It is wrong for any officer to think civilians are nothing. This brutalisation must stop,” Ali stated.
The senior advocate further argued that most uniformed agencies in the country, apart from the military, remain civilian institutions bound by civil laws and accountability mechanisms.
“If you think you can act with impunity because you wear a uniform, there will always be a day of reckoning. Continued brutality will only destroy public respect for these institutions,” he warned.
Ali, however, acknowledged that the matter could still be resolved amicably if all parties agreed, but insisted that respect for due process must come first.
“Cases like this can be settled, but the rule of law must be respected by everyone involved,” he said.
Efforts to get a reaction from the NSCDC spokesperson in Kwara State, Ayoola Micheal, were unsuccessful as calls to him were not answered on Friday night.
The dispute stems from allegations that the two NSCDC officers assaulted Aladodo, prompting legal action and repeated court directives ordering their appearance.
Chief Magistrate Adebayo Qudus Dupe had earlier directed the Kwara State NSCDC Commandant to produce the officers before the court.
However, following what the court described as repeated non-compliance, a bench warrant was issued directing the Commissioner of Police to arrest and produce the Commandant at the next adjourned sitting on June 10, 2026.
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