Dr Akintoye Akindele, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Duport Midstream Company Limited, has had a warrant of arrest and remand quashed by a Chief Magistrate Court of Nasarawa State.
In a ruling on suit No: CMC/MG/CR/175/2023 between Akindele (defendant) and the Inspector General of Police (complainant), the court set aside the arrest warrant on Thursday.
The quashing of the warrant was due to the court’s realization that it should not have been issued in Nasarawa State in the first place.
One of the defendant’s lawyers, Pelumi Olajengbesi, provided a copy of the court order to our correspondent.
Akindele and his legal team requested the court to set aside the arrest warrant and warrant of commitment to prison on remand issued in favor of the Inspector General of Police.
The lawyer argued that the arrest warrant was null and void because the court lacked jurisdiction and important facts were concealed or suppressed.
Consequently, the court ordered the “setting aside and discharging of the warrant of arrest, warrant of search, and warrant of commitment to prison on remand against the defendant (Dr Akintoye Akindele).”
Commenting on the court order, Olajengbesi stated, “The implication of the court order is to nullify the basis upon which the defendant was arrested in the first place, which means that the arrest and search were wrongfully conducted without proper court order.
“The standard in our criminal jurisprudence is investigation before arrest. It is concerning that the Nigeria Police Force approached a Magistrate Court in Nasarawa State, a court that lacks jurisdiction to issue such a warrant. Furthermore, after the court stated its lack of jurisdiction and invited the police to defend it, the police failed to appear, acknowledging their mistake in the unnecessary drama.”
Akindele had previously revealed a business dispute with the family of the late MKO Abiola. He stated that his business rivals are attempting to fabricate baseless fraud allegations against him with the help of cronies, dismissing all fraud allegations against him as unfounded.
