Following his alleged involvement in a N785 million fraud, Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court Abuja has issued a warrant for the arrest of Hon. Amarachi Iwuanyanwu, the deputy speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly.
Justice Ekwo ruled that all security services and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) must immediately arrest the legislator both inside and outside of Nigeria and bring him before the court or the EFCC headquarters.
The ex-parte motion from November 14 that the EFCC submitted to the court through its attorney, Mr. Olanrewaju Adeola, resulted in the order for Iwuanyawu’s arrest.
The legislator has now fled the country and is reportedly hiding in the US, according to information the EFCC provided to the court.
It informed the court that he declined to appear to answer a petition filed against him and his business, Sun
The EFCC claims that Hakiz Investment Company Limited entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Iwuanyawu’s company at some point in 2012 to develop an estate with 14 units of four-bedroom terrace homes and one block of six flats on the petitioner’s land in Mabuchi, Abuja. The petition was signed by the company’s lawyer and addressed to the chairman.
It informed the court that the parties had agreed that, upon completion of the estate by the respondent, the complainant—the landowner—would receive 40% of the building, and the legislator, the developer, would receive 60%.
The anti-graft agency, however, claimed that its investigations showed that after the estate was finished, the respondent sold every building and illegally diverted the money without the complainant’s knowledge. Additionally, there is information that the lawmaker is in the United States.
According to the EFCC, the court should issue an arrest warrant for the Respondent in the interest of justice.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), banks, and other pertinent agencies had since received letters from the Commission outlining its investigation efforts, the Commission informed the court.
Justice Ekwo, on the other hand, decided that the ex-parte application had substance and granted it as a result of his decision.
For a report, Justice Ekwo postponed the case until February 23.