On Friday, the EFCC halted the arrest warrant towards Ezekiel Onyedikachi, the embattled supervisor of gospel musician Mercy Chinwo.
The Vanguard stories that the EFCC additionally formally served Monday Ubani, Mr Onyedikachi’s lawyer, his shopper’s alleged $345,000 fraud allegation cost.
The choice follows an attraction by Mr Onyedikachi’s lawyer, who pleaded with the courtroom, stating that his shopper was unaware of the summons and guaranteed him of his voluntary look.
The fee requested to withdraw the warrant on the request of its (EFCC’s) lawyer, Bilikisu Buhari.
Final Thursday, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Federal Excessive Court docket in Lagos had granted a warrant of arrest towards Mr Onyedikachukwu. Justice Alexander Owoeye granted the order following a movement exparte introduced by the EFCC in search of the supervisor’s arrest.
In line with the anti-graft company, the arrest warrant stemmed from a petition by Chinwo, who alleged that her supervisor diverted $345,000 with out remitting her share.
Nevertheless, in a sequence of screenshots on his Instagram web page, Mr Onyedikachukwu refuted the allegations, describing them as false.
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The EFCC agreed to withdraw the warrant on the situation Mr Onyedikachukwu honours future courtroom appearances.
Proceedings
Throughout the listening to, the EFCC lawyer, Bilikisu Buhari, offered the intense allegations towards Mr Onyedikachi.
She knowledgeable Justice Alexander Owoeye that her shopper was accused of prison actions associated to monetary mismanagement, together with diverting royalties from Chinwo’s digital platforms and occasions.
She claimed the gospel music producer and supervisor misappropriated roughly $345,000 and did not remit Chinwo’s share.
Responding, Mr Onyedikachi’s lawyer instructed the courtroom that the EFCC misled the courtroom in granting the order for his shopper’s arrest as the subject material was purely a contractual dispute and that his shopper filed a basic human rights enforcement go well with towards the EFCC earlier than one other courtroom in search of to cease his arrest.
Mr Ubani additionally instructed the courtroom that his shopper filed a preliminary objection to the cost towards him and urged the courtroom to vacate the sooner arrest warrant issued towards him, including that the EFCC had not served his shopper any cost.
EFCC counsel Bilikisu Buhari instructed the courtroom that the fee couldn’t arrest the defendant as a result of the courtroom had ordered his arrest.
She requested the courtroom’s permission to serve the cost on Ezekiel’s lawyer within the open courtroom and additional famous that there may be no want for the arrest warrant since Ubani has accepted the cost on behalf of his shopper.
Justice Owoeye, thereafter, fastened 14 February for attainable arraignment and listening to of pending purposes earlier than the courtroom.
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