About two weeks after Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court, Lagos, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of former Niger Delta militant, Government Ekpemupolo (a.k.a Tompolo), the police is yet to get the order from the bailiff.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole said on Monday that the police had yet to arrest Tompolo because they have not been served the court order. “We have not received the court order on Tompolo till now and that is why we have not effected his arrest,” she explained.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had charged Tompolo and a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Patrick Akpobolokemi, alongside eight others for N34bn fraud.
Following his failure to appear in court on January 14, 2015, the presiding judge ordered the arrest of the ex-militant leader to answer the 30 counts of alleged N34bn fraud.
The judge issued a bench warrant against Tompolo and ordered that he must be produced in court on February 8, 2016 “by all means to answer the charges.”
Justice Buba had earlier in chambers made an order compelling Tompolo to unconditionally appear before him to answer to the charges.
But while all the other accused, including Akpobolokemi who came on crutches, were in court with their lawyers, Tompolo was absent and did not send a representative.
When the matter was called, the EFCC prosecutor, Festus Keyamo, informed the court that despite the fact that the summons was issued in Lagos, the EFCC successfully pasted it on the wall of the 1, Chief Agbanu DDPA Extension, Warri, Delta State’s house of the ex-warlord.
He furnished the court with a photographic evidence of the pasting of the summons, noting that despite the summons being served on Tompolo as directed by the judge, the accused did not appear in court.
Keyamo applied for a warrant of arrest for Tompolo, pursuant to Section 131 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015.
