Appeal Court invalidates the arrest warrant for Amaechi and others

In a criminal case brought by the Rivers State Government against Rotimi Amaechi, a former governor of the state, and five other people, a Port Harcourt court of appeals has overturned an arrest order issued by a Rivers State high court.

Amaechi, Patrick Tonye-Cole, Augustine Wokocha, a former energy commissioner, and three other people were named in a warrant for arrest issued by Justice Chiwendu Nwogu on May 17, 2023. The warrant was challenged in the Appeal Court. Tonye-Cole was the All Progressives Congress’s candidate for governor of Rivers State in the recently concluded 2023 election.

The Rivers State High Court erred in continuing with the case when the procedure was already being contested at the Appellate Court, according to a unanimous decision by a three-person panel led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh on the application.

The three-person panel of the Appeal Court quashed the warrant of arrest order issued against Amaechi and five other people and criticized the way in which the defendants were served.

Achinike Williams, one of the attorneys for Amaechi and the other defendants, stated that the Appeal Court’s decision in the case “has put a stop to the illegality of the Rivers State Government under former Governor Nyesom Wike.”