Arrest warrant issued against Nsima Ekere guber candidate of APC, Akwa Ibom
On the 5th of March, 2019, a Port Harcourt Magistrate Court issued a warrant of arrest against Nsima Ekere, former managing director of the NDDC and governorship candidate of the APC in Akwa Ibom State.
From all indications only the counsel for the complainant, S.T. Soremi appeared before the Magistrate.
The arrest warrant was signed by Sir S.D. Andrew-Jaja, a Chief Magistrate and S.T. Dappa, a Principal Registrar in the Rivers State Judiciary.According to the order obtained by Elendureports, Charge no. PMC/MISC/15/2019 is between Multi-Intelligence Development Ltd and Katungo Mojengo, Nsima Ekere. Katungo Mojengo is the director of Legal Services for NDDC, according to reports.
The arrest warrant is issued in “compliance with S.138 of the Rivers State Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2015.”
Elendureports had been investigating allegations of Magistrates in Rivers State being forced to sign warrants of arrest with no names of litigants and charges on it. Last week a top Rivers State Judiciary staff who was alarmed that Magistrates in Rivers State were being forced to sign blank arrest warrants contacted our reporter in Port Harcourt.
The allegation is that a very senior Registrar in the Rivers State Judiciary (names withheld) approached some Magistrates and ordered them to sign arrest warrants. Alarmed, some of the Magistrates declined to carry out the instruction and suggested that the Registrar issue a written order to them. The Registrar refused.
We contacted some Magistrates using different sources. Those who spoke to us did so on the condition that their names and postings shall not be part of the story.
Some Magistrates told us they were not aware of such orders as no one had approached them to issue blank arrest warrants. Others admitted to us that they had been approached to issue blank arrest warrants. A few of the Magistrates told us they declined to issue the warrants.
A Port Harcourt based lawyer who is aware of this matter told us: “The Administration of Criminal Justice Law governs the issuance of the warrant of arrest…I smell politics, bad politics in this whole saga.”
The Judgment for which arrest order was issued against Nsima Ekere was given 5 years before Ekere became an executive of NDDC. It is a case of contract between the complainants and the NDDC.
All attempts to reach the Chief Judge and Chief Registrar of Rivers State failed. Our attempts to contact Nsima Ekere were not successful..