An Abuja High Court has issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Joseph Eriki, the Director of Investigations and Prosecution at the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), in connection with an alleged land fraud scandal.
The order was made on Tuesday by Justice Suleiman Belgore of the Garki High Court after Eriki failed to appear in court to answer to criminal charges filed by the Federal Government.
Mr. Eriki, along with 11 other individuals and five companies, is facing a nine-count charge related to allegations of conspiracy and forgery. The group is accused of defrauding a company, Etha Ventures Limited, of multiple plots of land located at Sabon Lugbe East Layout in Abuja. The plots involved are numbered 461 to 470 and 486 to 496.
Other individuals listed as co-defendants in the case include Boniface Agwu, Ikechukwu Kanu, Prince Isaac Omoluwa, Nwaimoneye Augustine Onyisi, Surajo Aliyu, and Ogbole Michael. The companies implicated are Super Structure Limited, Bonatec Electrical Company Limited, Weatherfield Engineering Marine Services Limited, and Asher Information Services Limited.
According to the charges, the alleged fraud took place between 2019 and 2024. The Federal Government claims the accused used falsified land documents to deceive the property firm, which is an offence under section 366 of the Penal Code and punishable by section 364 of the same law.
The prosecution, led by government lawyer Mr. David Kaswe, noted that the accused persons were previously granted administrative bail and had been made aware of the charges. However, despite repeated notifications, none of them appeared in court for their scheduled arraignment.
Mr. Kaswe told the court, “All efforts to bring them for arraignment proved abortive,” and requested a bench warrant under section 124 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015. This legal request was aimed at ensuring the attendance of the accused in court by force, if necessary.
Justice Belgore granted the application and instructed that the accused be arrested and brought before the court on June 4, the next scheduled hearing date. The judge noted that this was a necessary step given their continued absence from legal proceedings.
