A legal practitioner, Musa Yakubu, SAN, has called on the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to investigate allegations that its personnel assaulted court officials and prevented them from enforcing a judgment in a property dispute in Jabi, Abuja.
Yakubu made the demand in a statement on Thursday, following a complaint dated September 28, 2026, by Professor Abubakar Abba Hassan.
Hassan alleged that armed Air Force personnel confronted officials of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and forced them to leave a property at No. 111, Plot 287, Ebitu Ukiwe Street, Jabi District, during an enforcement exercise on September 25.
The complaint was acknowledged by the NAF Headquarters on September 29.
According to Yakubu, the incident occurred after the District Court of the FCT, sitting in Jabi, dismissed an application by Kryterion Limited seeking to suspend the execution of an earlier judgment granting Hassan possession of the property.
The dispute arose from a tenancy agreement between Hassan and the company, whose managing director is a retired colonel.
The case, registered as Suit No. CV/JIW/383/2025, concerned the recovery of the property following the expiration of the tenancy agreement, which commenced on August 1, 2015, and ended on July 31, 2025.
Yakubu said Hassan approached the court to recover possession, arguing that the tenancy had expired and the company’s continued occupation of the premises was unlawful.
On June 9, 2026, the District Court ruled in Hassan’s favour, declaring that the tenancy had expired and ordering the company to vacate the property and hand over possession to him.
Kryterion subsequently challenged the judgment and applied for a stay of execution pending the determination of its appeal.
However, the court dismissed the application on September 15, 2026, ruling that the company had failed to establish the special or exceptional circumstances required to justify suspending enforcement of the judgment.
Yakubu said the alleged confrontation between the Air Force personnel and court officials raised serious concerns about judicial authority and the enforcement of court decisions.
“If armed personnel can prevent court officials from carrying out their lawful duties, it risks sending a dangerous message that court orders can be ignored whenever a party has the backing or access of a powerful institution.
“That would weaken public confidence in the judiciary and raise concerns about unequal access to justice, particularly where ordinary citizens depend on the courts to protect their property and enforce their rights,” Yakubu stated.
