According to prosecuting counsel, Celcus Ukpong, two counts of failure to declare assets were filed against Ekweremadu in May. However, he shunned the court hearing on Wednesday despite receiving notice of it.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected the request of the Federal Government to issue a warrant for the arrest of Ike Ekweremadu, the Deputy Senate President.
The request was made on the Federal Government’s behalf by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property.
The panel asked the court to order the arrest of Ekweremadu for absenting himself from court on Wednesday for his scheduled arraignment for failure to declare his assets.
According to prosecuting counsel, Celcus Ukpong, two counts of failure to declare assets were filed against Ekweremadu in May. However, he shunned the court hearing on Wednesday despite receiving notice of it.
But Ekweremadu’s lawyer, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the application, saying Ekweremadu had filed a motion challenging the competence of the charges and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the case.
He argued that the application needed to be decided first before hearing on the charges could proceed.
Details soon…