Admin l Tuesday, May 09, 2017
IKEJA, Lagos, Nigeria – A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has made an order prohibiting the further publication of an arrest warrant issued against two British nationals Deepak khilani and Sushil Chandra being prosecuted over allegations of fraud.
Khilani and Chandra have been charged before Justice Atinuke Ipaye for allegedly defrauding their Nigerian partner, Green Fuels Limited of $8.8 million in 2008. The Prosecution represented by Senior State Counsel, Mrs. Bola Akinsete has not been able to get the court to formally arraign the defendants due to their continuous failure to serve the originating processes and proof of evidence on them.
Following an exparte application by the prosecution on March 1, 2017 the court directed that counsel representing the defendants be served with the originating processes in the criminal case. The Defendants did not have notice of the said proceedings.
The Prosecution on April 3, 2017 after purportedly complying with the court directive applied to the court for bench warrant to be issued against the defendants when they did not appear for the proceedings of the said day.
Justice Ipaye acceded to the request and promptly made an order issuing bench warrant against the Defendants. However, the Defendants through their lawyer Mr Kayode Ajekigbe filed an application challenging the issuance of the bench warrant and the entire proceedings of the 3rd April 2017 on the ground that the court was misled into conducting the proceedings and issuing the order for issuance of the bench warrant.
In a motion on notice date April 11, 2017, the defendants’ lawyer contended that he, being the counsel on record to the Defendants was never served with the originating processes as required by law and as directed by the court.
Ajekigbe also stated that his law chambers never received the requisite hearing notice notifying them that the matter was to be held on April 3, 2017. He subsequently prayed the court to set aside the order issuing bench warrant against his clients and another order directing that his law firm be served with the originating processes in the matter.
While the motion was still pending, an advert of the arrested warrant was published in two national newspapers. The matter however took a different twist on May 5, 2017 when Ajekigbe informed the court about the publication saying that it was made in bad Faith.
Ajekigbe stated that since his clients have challenged the arrest warrant order which was allegedly gotten through a wrong process, it was wrong for anyone to advertise the said warrant when a motion challenging it is before the court.
After hearing the submission of defence counsel, Justice Ipaye ordered that further publication of the arrest warrant should stop. “An order is hereby made stopping the publication of the arrest warrant issued by this court in respect of the two defendants in this matter on any platform,” she said.
Justice Ipaye subsequently fixed May 23, 2017 for the hearing of the defendants’ motion on notice challenging the bench warrant and the proceedings of the 3rd April 2017. Earlier in the proceeding, the judge expressed displeasure over the lazy manner the prosecution team which was absent at the proceeding was handling the matter.
Ipaye expressed dismay that prosecution which failed to file response to the application challenging her arrest order, sent a ‘baby’ lawyer who knows nothing about the case to court to handle the matter.
” This is an indictment on the prosecution team which has been served but decided to send a baby lawyer to court. This court is been treated with a level of casualness. This court is displeased with the attitude of the prosecution,” she said.
