A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has ordered the arrest of Kabiru Turaki, SAN, a factional national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for failing to appear before the court to answer criminal charges filed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP).
The presiding judge, Justice U.P. Kekemeke, issued the bench warrant on Thursday after holding that Turaki had no justification for his repeated absence despite being duly served with court notices.
Turaki, a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs (2013–2015), is facing a one-count charge marked FCT/HC/CR/647/25, in which the police alleged that he provided false information to the Inspector-General of Police in a petition dated October 5, 2022.
According to the charge, the alleged offence occurred when Turaki submitted a petition containing false information, an act said to be punishable under Section 140 of the Penal Code Law.
The police prosecutor, Usman Rabiu, had urged the court to invoke Section 143 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 and issue a bench warrant following the defendant’s repeated failure to appear in court.
The case was initially before Justice K.N. Ogbonnaya, but was later reassigned after Turaki petitioned the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, expressing lack of confidence in the handling of the matter.
At Thursday’s sitting, Justice Kekemeke held that filing a petition to the Chief Judge does not halt criminal proceedings unless a formal directive is issued.
The court noted that Turaki had been duly served and had no valid excuse for his absence, describing his conduct as unacceptable in the face of a criminal charge.
Consequently, the court ordered his arrest and directed that he be produced before it for arraignment, stressing that his continued absence despite being duly served amounted to disregard for judicial process. The matter was thereafter adjourned for further proceedings.
Meanwhile, reactions have trailed the development, with some Nigerians alleging political undertones, claiming the proceedings may be influenced by internal PDP factional struggles linked to the camp aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, though no official evidence has been presented to support the claim.
