Court fixes March 25 to decide on arrest warrant for Gov Fubara’s CoS

Embattled Chief of Staff to Rivers State Governor, Edison Ehie, will on March 25, know his fate on an application seeking to vacate a warrant of arrest issued on him over his alleged involvement in the bombing of the state House of Assembly in October last year.

The date for the hearing was fixed by the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday by Justice Emeka Nwite following an application filed by Ehie’s lawyer, Oluwole Aladedoye, who urged the court to set aside the warrant since his client had never turned down any invitation by the police to deserve such an order.

Aladedoye further argued that it was “strange” that the IGP left all the courts in Rivers State where the alleged offences were committed, to file an application before the Federal High Court in Abuja, insisting that the court has no jurisdiction to entertain the case as the alleged crimes were state offences.

“What is disclosed are state offences; it is our submission that this court cannot exercise any jurisdiction in state offences without the fiat of the Attorney General of Rivers State,” Aladedoye said.

“He was never invited by the police for anything. All that he saw was that they filed a charge; they mentioned his name in four out of seven charges for murder and arson,” he added.

In his response, the lawyer representing the IGP, Simon Loughe, argued that the matter was within the jurisdiction of the court, adding that an arrest warrant issued by the Federal High Court can be executed anywhere in Nigeria.

After listening to the lawyers’ arguments, Justice Nwite
adjourned the matter till March 25 for hearing.

Justice Nwite had, on January 31, ordered the arrest of Ehie alongside other suspects namely Jinjiri Bala, Happy Benedict, Progress Joseph, Adokiye Oyagiri, and Chibuike Peter, following an ex-parte application brought by the Inspector General of Police on allegations including the burning of the Assembly and murder.

The quartet of Bala, Benedict, Joseph, Oyagiri, and Peter were arraigned before Justice Bolaji Olajuwon of an Abuja High Court on January 24 on charges of conspiracy, arson, attempted murder, and murder, and were remanded in prison custody pending their bail application hearing.

However, in all the charges, Edison’s name was not mentioned as an accomplice which is the ground his lawyer is hanging on.

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