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An Ado-Ekiti High Court has turned down a request by the Ekiti State government to secure a warrant of arrest to get ex-governor Ayodele Fayose and the former executive chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prince Akintade Olayisade apprehended.
An Ado-Ekiti High Court has turned down a request by the Ekiti State government to secure a warrant of arrest to get ex-governor Ayodele Fayose and the former executive chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Prince Akintade Olayisade apprehended.
The High Court 6 presided over by Honourable Justice Cornelius Akintayo on Monday refused to issue the warrant for the arrest of Fayose and Olayisade in the charge brought to the court by the state government citing the failure of the prosecution to bring the application through a statement on oath.
At the court proceeding, Justice Akintayo emphasised that the request for a warrant of arrest of the suspects brought by the prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs could only be granted if it was accompanied with a statement on oath.
Jacob had advocated that although the acting Chief Judge had approved the filing of the charge against the accused persons since July 17, he told the court that the accused had been evading service since then making it difficult for the court processes to be served on them.
He further revealed to the court the helplessness of the security agencies in arresting the suspects since no warrant of arrest was issued against the two accused persons, pointing out that the first accused person (Fayose) recently appeared in the state and disappeared thereafter.
According to Jacob: 'We need your assistance to exercise Your Lordship's power under Sections 23, 24 and 25 of the criminal prosecution act to issue a warrant of arrest so as to bring the two accused persons before my lord. The sections deal with the power of the court to issue warrant of arrest once there is a statement on oath.
'Your Lordship can make that order even if is a Sunday or public holiday. It can be directed at a police officer by name or to any officer."
In his response, Justice Akintayo held that he could not issue the warrant of arrest as the prosecution has failed to accompany the charge with a valid statement on oath which is the norm anytime such an application is filed in the court of law, saying an ordinary statement made in the police station cannot be regarded as an oath.
The judge said: 'An ordinary statement made to a police officer at the police station is not an oath. They are to tell me the problem in getting this matter on oath. There must be an oath. This paper before me is not an oath. There must be a statement on oath. It is not what I want, but what the law says."
Jacobs also had his request to stand down the matter while he went to the court registry to prepare an affidavit and continue his argument refused by the judge, who noted that the issue before him was 'very weighty".
Justice Akintayo acknowledged the fact that the the matter has generated a huge public interest, noting that the law does not allow him to grant the prosecution's request. He expressed disgust with Jacobs' request that he (Akintayo) should sit on the judge's chair and wait for him (Jacobs) to go to the registry and come back to continue his argument.
The judge described the request as an 'abnormal course of events" while adjourning the matter till today (Tuesday) for the prosecution to obtain the statement on oath and the affidavit in support of it.