JUST IN – Court Orders Arrest of APC Chairman, Other Top Officials

High Court in Ijero Ekiti, Ekiti state has issued an arrest warrant against the chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Jide Awe, and Faboro John Ojo, Aniramu Basiru and Falayi Busuyi.

  

The four officials are suspected of being involved in the murder of Ayo Murphy Jeje and Mrs Julianah Adewumi in Erinjiyan-Ekiti, Ekiti state, on March 30, 2013. 

They are expected to be brought to court by the police on October 5, 2016. The warrant of arrest dated July 27, 2016, was issued after Yakubu Dauda, the counsel to the Ekiti state government, asked the court to compel the appearances of the accused persons before the court who repeatedly ignored the previous orders. 

“Consequently, I hereby invoke the provisions of Section 94 of the Ekiti State Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Ekiti State by ordering that Bench Warrants be issued against the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants to compel their appearances before this court at the next day of adjournment and subsequently to stand for their trial. This matter is hereby adjourned till 5th of October, 2016 for hearing,” the judge ruled. 

Earlier, Mr Owoseni Ajayi, the Ekiti state attorney-general and commissioner for Justice, called for the arrest of the mentioned APC members and condemned the disobedience of the police to arrest the accused persons. 

He said: “The Ekiti State has requested the Nigeria Police, Ekiti State Command to effect the arrests of these culprits but instead of effecting the arrests, the Police has refused and/or neglected to effect the arrests on the ground that such arrests should not be made except with the approval of the Police Force Headquarters, Abuja.”