Ohakim: Defendant Asks Court to Vacate Arrest Order, Challenges Jurisdiction

Ohakim: Defendant Asks Court to Vacate Arrest Order, Challenges Jurisdiction

By Alex Enumah

A defendant, Miss Chinyere Amuchienwa has asked a district of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the Abuja Magisterial District in Jiwa, Abuja to vacate an earlier order of court for her arrest in respect of alleged threat to life of former Imo State Governor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim.

The defendant/applicant in a motion on notice marked: Motion 12/164/2020 is also challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain a case of Direct Criminal Complaint filed against her by Ohakim.

In the motion dated December 28 and filed December 29, 2020 by her lawyer, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Obasi-Nweze, the defendant, which anchored her request on five grounds, stated that Ohakim misrepresented facts in the matter so as to obtain the arrest order against her.

She also noted that the process through which the order was obtained was manifestly incompetent because it was headed in the district court, which according to her counsel was inappropriate, adding that it contained more than one offence contrary to the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.

She further argued that the defendant was not put on notice neither was there any motion exparte before the arrest order was made.

Amuchienwa therefore prayed the court for an order “setting aside the earlier order of this court, obtained by fraud and misrepresentation, directing that the defendant be arrested by the Police and brought to court for arraignment”.

She also prayed for another order of the court declining jurisdiction to hear the matter as presently constituted and referred Ohakim’s lawyer to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee for appropriate sanction.

In a nine paragraph affidavit in support of the motion on notice the defendant/applicant claimed that Ohakim’s lawyer was aware of a suit filed against the complainant and yet went ahead to initiate legal action against the police and the defendant in a high Court of Imo State, an act she described as professional misconduct.

The Nigeria Police Force had in November last year arraigned Ohakim before a high court of the Federal Capital Territory in Maitama for giving false information against Amuchienwa, claiming that she threatened him with a gun.

“That you Ikedi Ohakim on or about the 23rd day of May, 2019 at Asokoro, did unlawfully give false information against one Chinyere Amuchienwa, that she threatened you with gun knowing it to be false and thereby committed an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code Law of the Northern Nigeria, 1968”, part of the charge read.

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