A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has scheduled June 23, 2025, for the arraignment of the Director of Investigation and Prosecution at the Federal Capital Territory Administration, Joseph Eriki, along with ten others.
They face a nine charges relating to alleged land grabbing.
According to Vanguard, the arraignment was postponed to give the defence counsels time to ensure their clients are present in court for the trial.
During the resumed session, prosecuting counsel David Kwase informed the court that efforts to enforce the arrest warrant previously issued against the defendants have so far proved unsuccessful.
He requested additional time to facilitate their arrest and subsequent appearance in court.
Meanwhile, C.S. Ekeocha, representing the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 9th defendants, stated that two applications had been filed.
One seeks to have the bench warrant set aside, while the other is a request for bail.
Ekeocha explained that the absence of the defendants was due to the fact that they were not served with the charge before the bench warrant was sought by the prosecution.
“They only got to know about the charges from the media,” he said, urging the court to adjourn in order to hear the application seeking to nullify the arrest order.
Similarly, E.E. Apeh, counsel to the 3rd defendant, noted that they had also filed two applications and requested that the court grant an adjournment to allow those motions to be heard.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Suleiman Belgore remarked that the defence lawyers, through their submissions, had acknowledged awareness of the charges and the court’s order for the defendants to appear.
“You should apply for enough time to bring your clients to court, not filing applications,” the judge stated.
In response, defence counsel assured the court that their clients would be available for arraignment on the next date.
Justice Belgore then adjourned the matter until June 23, 2025, for the arraignment to proceed.
