A FEDERAL Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Maitama on Tuesday threatened to issue a bench warrant against an Abuja-based lawyer, one Victor Giwa, in a case of alleged unlawful eviction, criminal intimidation and threat to life of one Ms Asabe Waziri.
The defendants are Cecil Osakwe, a property developer, Victor Giwa, a lawyer and Edith Erhunmwuuse.
They were to be arraigned on alleged unlawful eviction and criminal intimidation but they were absent in court for the second the second consecutive time to take their pleas.
At the resumed sitting on the nine-count charge marked: CR/222/2023, counsel to the plaintiff, M. A. Una, told the court that at the last sitting of the court, Victor Giwa, the 2nd defendant, had written to the court that he was sick.
He added that there was, however, evidence that he was before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court Abuja as a counsel in another matter.
He therefore urged the court to grant a bench warrant for his arrest for arraignment.
Responding, Deborah Nwoke, counsel to the 2nd defendant, Victor Giwa, insisted that her client was sick and has a medical report to prove it but did not contest the fact that he was in court that day.
Earlier, the plaintiff’s lawyer had told the court that the 1st defendant, Cecil Osakwe, is evading service and that several attempts to serve him failed and asked the court to grant an application for substituted service that can be pasted on his residence in Abuja.
In a short ruling, Justice Samira Bature, granted that the service should be pasted on the residence of the 1st defendant.
The judge further threatened to issue a bench warrant on the 2nd defendant should he fail to appear on the next adjourned date.
Bature emphasised that the grace was because the 2nd defendant is a lawyer.
The judge therefore urged him to appear in the next adjourned date or the application for a bench warrant be issued on him.
Bature subsequently adjourned till tomorrow for further mention and subsequent arraignment.
The defendants are to be arraigned on a-nine-count charge bordering on unlawful eviction, criminal intimidation and threat to life and damage to property to the tune of N300 million. (NAN)
