N2bn Fraud: Court Orders Niger State CP To Arrest Ex-Gov Babangida Aliyu

Justice Aminu Aliyu of the federal high court in Minna has requested for the presence of Commissioner of Police in Niger over his failure to execute the bench warrant issued for the arrest of former Governor Babangida Aliyu and Umar Nasko.

Naija News learnt that the judge gave the order after the governor and his accomplice, Nasko failed to appear in court on May 23 for re-arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, over alleged N1.9 billion fraud.

The EFCC is prosecuting Aliyu and Nasko over their alleged involvement in about N2billion money laundering.

The judge, who was visibly angry over lack of respect for his court, gave three orders to the Commissioner of Police for failure to carry out his order.

First, he ordered Commissioner of police to appear before the court for failure to execute his order.

Secondly, he directed the Commissioner of Police to execute the Bench warrant earlier issued against the duo.

The Judge further directed the CP to personally arrest Aliyu and Nasko and personally bring them to court on the next adjourned date- June 13, 2019.

Incidentally, no reason was canvassed for their absence in court. Lawyer to Aliyu, Akinjide Ayodele (SAN), who was present in court, however, claimed that he was unable to get in touch with his client on Sunday.

But the judge replied that Aliyu was not in court according to his court records.  Nasko’s lawyer, Mamman Ousman (SAN), was also absent in court with his client.

Meanwhile, In another development,  Justice Rilwan Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Lagos has granted leave to two architects to file contempt proceeding against the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and two others for alleged continuous disobedience to court’s order.

Fashola alongside Architect Registration Council of Nigeria (ARCON) and Registered Trustees of the Nigerian Institute of Architect (RTNIA) was dragged before the court by two aggrieved architects, James Onyemenam and Adeleke Iwakun over the conduct of the Professional Practice Competence Examination (PPCE)