Court Orders Arrest Of Taraba Investment Boss, Others

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The Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo has issued a warrant of arrest on the Managing Director of Taraba Investment and Property Company Limited, Mr Ezekiel Iliya, and two others, Mr Chris Apaji and Veronica Musa, for contempt of court.

The presiding judge, Justice Stephen Pam, who issued the warrant of arrest on Monday (a certified true copy was obtained by our correspondent), ordered the trio to be brought to the court on January 16, 2020.

The arrest warrant was in pursuant to an ex-parte motion brought before the court by the plaintiff, Benjamin Orume (a lawyer), and eight others on December 2, 2019.

In the ex-parte motion, Orume and eight others, who are directors in Taraba Microfinance Bank, prayed the court to restrain the defendants (Ezekiel Iliya and two others) from interfering with the activities of the bank pending the determination of the case before the court.

The court, after reading the affidavit in support of the motion sworn to by one Mallam Nasiru Baba of Taraba Microfinance Bank and hearing the application from Ganki Hassan Esq in support of the motion, granted all the three reliefs sought by the plaintiff.

But in spite of the order of the court, Ezekiel Iliya, Veronica Musa and Chris Apaji allegedly forced themselves into the bank and interfered with its activities.

In a warrant of arrest, marked FHC/JAL/CS/24/2019 and Charge N0 FHC/JAL/M/83/2019 and signed by Justice S.D. Pam and certified by B. Bakari, the court ordered the arrest of Iliya Ezekiel, Veronica Musa and Chris Apaji.

Meanwhile, the Taraba State Police Command has temporarily sealed the premises of Taraba Micro Finance Bank Limited.

The command’s spokesman, DSP David Misal, who confirmed the development to our correspondent, said the action of the command was in obedience to an executive order to the command to avoid a possible breakdown of law and order in the bank.