A high court in the Federal Capital Territory has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Kabiru Turaki, a factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, following his failure to appear in court for arraignment in a criminal case.
The order was given on Thursday by Justice U.P. Kekemeke, who ruled that Turaki had no valid reason for missing the court session and must be brought before the court to face trial.
Turaki, a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs under former President Goodluck Jonathan, is being prosecuted by the police over allegations of providing false information in a petition submitted in October 2022.
The case was initially scheduled for hearing on January 28 but could not proceed due to his absence, despite an earlier directive from the court requiring his presence.
During the latest proceedings, the prosecution urged the court to issue a warrant for his arrest, citing his repeated failure to honour the summons.
In response, his legal team argued that Turaki was absent because he had filed a petition before the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, seeking the transfer of the case to another judge on grounds of lack of confidence in the current court.
However, Justice Kekemeke held that such a petition does not automatically stop criminal proceedings unless formally approved by the Chief Judge.
