A high court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has ordered the arrest of Kabiru Turaki, a factional national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after he failed to appear in court in a case instituted by the inspector-general of police (IGP).
Delivering the ruling on Thursday, the trial judge, U.P. Kekemeke, held that Turaki, a former minister, has no justification not to appear before the court.
The IGP had filed a one-count charge against Turaki, accusing him of providing false information to the police in a petition dated October 2022.
The former minister was earlier scheduled for arraignment on January 28, but proceedings could not go on due to his absence.
During the sitting, the prosecutor informed the court that the defendant was expected to be present, in line with an earlier order directing him to appear.
The prosecutor subsequently asked the court to issue a bench warrant against Turaki.
In response, defence counsel said his client’s absence was due to a letter sent to the chief judge of the FCT high court, requesting that the case be reassigned to another judge.
He added that a petition had also been submitted to the chief judge, expressing doubt on confidence in the court.
However, the trial judge, K.N. Ogbonnaya, ruled that filing a petition to the chief judge cannot stop the continuation of a criminal proceeding unless a directive comes from the chief judge.
The matter was thereafter adjourned to March 5.
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