An Abuja High Court sitting at Garki on Tuesday ordered the arrest of Mr. Joseph Eriki, the Director of Investigations and Prosecution of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), over his alleged involvement in a land fraud case.
Justice Suleiman Belgore issued the bench warrant following Mr. Eriki’s failure to appear in court to enter a plea to a nine-count charge brought against him and 11 others by the Federal Government.
The defendants include Boniface Agwu, Ikechukwu Kanu, Prince Isaac Omoluwa, Nwaimoneye Augustine Onyisi, Surajo Aliyu, Ogbole Michael, as well as five companies: Super Structure Limited, Bonatec Electrical Company Limited, Weatherfield Engineering Marine Services Limited, and Asher Information Services Limited.
The Federal Government alleges that between 2019 and 2024, the defendants conspired to defraud Etha Ventures Limited of multiple land plots, specifically plots 461 to 470 and 486 to 496 located in Sabon Lugbe, East Layout, Abuja.
They were accused of using forged land documents to perpetrate the fraud, an offense contrary to section 366 of the Penal Code, 2009, and punishable under section 364 of the same Act.
More specifically, the government charged that Mr. Eriki willfully and with intent to defraud falsified information about the plots of land and presented these forged documents to the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
During Tuesday’s court session, the government prosecutor, Mr. David Kaswe, informed the court that the defendants are currently on administrative bail. Despite being duly informed of the charges, all efforts to bring the defendants before the court for arraignment have proven unsuccessful.
Relying on section 124 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, Mr. Kaswe applied to the court to issue bench warrants as a last resort to compel the attendance of the defendants for trial.
Justice Belgore granted the application, ordering the immediate arrest and production of the defendants before the court on June 4 for the continuation of trial proceedings.