By Henry Ojelu

A Federal High Court Judge, Justice Daniel Osiagor has ordered the Police not to arrest a businessman, Ignatius Ukpaka who the Federal Government had filed a criminal charge against for allegedly stealing a land located in Banana Island which a Lagos High Court had declared him order.

Mr. Ukpaka was arrested by the Police on March 8, 2022 under the pretense of executing a warrant of arrest issued by the court but was detained at the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, of the Police after the court did not sit on March 9, 2022.

Akpaka’s wife, Uchenna had raised the alarm last week over his failing health at the SFU detention facility insisting that her husband’s continued detention was illegal as two Federal High Courts had discharged him of the land stealing allegation for which the federal government is arraigning him again for the third time.

At Tuesday’s proceedings, Counsel to the Federal Government, E.B. Offiong, SAN, confirmed to the court that Mr Ukpaka was indeed arrested by the Police but that he took ill while in their custody and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital which rejected him and referred him to another hospital.

He added that Ukpaka’s whereabout remains unknown to the Police which had detailed an Inspector to keep watch over him while at the second hospital.

Counsel to Akpaka, Dr. Charles Mekwunye, SAN, however drew the attention of the court to the illegality of the new charges against his client and insisted that his client was never served with the process of the new charges before his arrest.

Mekwunye also told the court that a motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court has been filed and that the Federal Government has been served with the motion.

In a short ruling, Justice Isiagor directed the Police not to arrest the defendant again since the arrest warrant issued against him has been expended and moreso his lawyer, Mekwunye has filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court.

“The police should allow the defendant to attend to his health. The arrest warrant issued against him has been expended and his lawyer has filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of this court,” he ruled.

The matter was adjourned to April 7, 2022 for hearing of the preliminary objection filed by Akpaka and other defendants in the matter.