An Ikeja High Court in Lagos has ruled that the Nigeria Police can arrest a cleric Samson Ayorinde over alleged issuance of a N118million dud cheque leveled against him.
Justice Yetunde Adesanya gave the ruling on Monday.
Mr Ayorinde is the general overseer of the World Evangelism Church Bible Church (WEBIC) in Lagos.
Justice Yetunde dismissed Ayorinde’s fundamental rights suit and held that the police could not be restrained from inviting, arresting and detaining the cleric in the course of investigation.
“On the totality of the foregoing, there has been no harassment, intimidation, threat of arrest or detention of the applicants.
“I must also find and hold that the police cannot be restrained from inviting, arresting (where necessary) and detaining the first and third applicants in the course of its investigation as prescribed by law.
“Restraining the law enforcement agency from arresting a person alleged to have committed an offence amount to an abuse of judicial power,” the judge said.
She however warned the police not to publish the applicants’ names on any police bulletin or any medium for purpose of declaring them wanted.
“It should be reasonably assumed that police are now in custody of all the relevant documents which have been exhibited in this application and which required for its investigation.
“The police should, therefore, hasten its investigation on the criminal complaint of the first to third respondent and bring it to a close, if it has not already done so,” she said.
NAN reports that the popular Lagos cleric alongside the registered trustees of WEBIC and Reverend Harold Chinoyerem had filed a fundamental rights suit against Oludare Aturamu, Kemi Adesanya, Smart Link Property Services, the Lagos commissioner of police, and others.
