Court Quashes Arrest, Search, Remand Warrants Against Businessman Akindele

A Chief Magistrate Court in Nasarawa State has quashed and set aside a warrant of arrest and remand against the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Duport Midstream Company Limited, Dr Akintoye Akindele.

In Suit No: CMC/MG/CR/175/2023, the court on August 23, 2023 gave the order in the case between Akindele (defendant) and the Inspector General of Police (the complainant).

A copy of the court order was made available by one of the lawyers of the defendant, Pelumi Olajengbesi.

Akindele, through his lawyers, had approached the court praying for an order to set aside a warrant of arrest and a warrant of commitment to prison on remand earlier made for being a nullity on the grounds that the court lacked jurisdiction and non-disclosure as well as suppression of material facts.

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The court subsequently ordered the “setting aside and discharging the warrant of arrest, warrant of search and warrant of commitment to prison on remand against the defendant (Dr Akintoye Akindele).”

Commenting on the development, Olajengbesi said, “The implication of the court order is to nullify the basis upon which he was arrested in the first place which means that the arrest and search were wrongfully done without proper order from the court.

“The standard in our criminal jurisprudence is investigation before arrest. It is worrisome that the Nigeria Police Force will have to approach a magistrate court in Nasarawa State where the court has no jurisdiction to obtain such a warrant, and after the court said it lacked jurisdiction on the matter and invited the police to defend it, the police failed to show up having recognised their error in the whole unnecessary drama.”

Recall that Akindele had opened up on a business dispute he had with the family of the late MKO Abiola. The businessman had said his business rivals were trying to weave unfound fraud allegations around him through cronies, describing all fraud allegations against him as untrue.