Court orders businessman’s arrest over alleged land grab

Justice Serifat Sonaike of the Lagos High Court sitting at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) has issued a bench warrant against a businessman, Gabriel Okafor Uzondu, for failing to appear before the court to take his plea.

The judge issued a warrant of arrest following Uzondu’s failure to appear before the court over allegations of conspiracy, conduct likely to cause breach of public peace, land grabbing and encroachment with weapons made against him by the men of IGP Monitoring Unit, Abuja.

At the resume hearing, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Morufu Animashaun, told the court that the defendant had flagrantly failed and refused to appear in court, despite being served repeatedly with the hearing notice.

Animashaun told the court that the bench warrant would compel the defendant’s appearance in court.

Justice Sonaike after listening to the prosecutor’s submission, ordered that a bench warrant of arrest and prosecution of the defendant be issued and subsequently adjourned the matter to September 21, 2022 for hearing.

The police, in a charge marked LD/16814/2021, alleged that the defendant and others, now at large, had on September 25, 2019, while armed with dangerous weapons, conspired among themselves, and forcefully, took over possession of land being occupied by the Association of Progressive Traders of Nigeria of International Trade Fair Complex, Ojo, Lagos.

The police also alleged that the defendant and others now at large, in their bid to take over the land, caused breach of public peace and that without lawful authority used violence for the purpose of securing entry into the said land.

Their offences contravened Sections section 411; 52 and 168(2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 and sections 2 (3); 7 and 3 (1)(3)(b)(4)(a)(b) as well as (1) of the Properties Protections Law, 2016.