Police Obtains Bench Warrant For Mbadinuju’s Arrest

Chris Agbambu, Abuja - 10.05.2008

The Special Panel re-investigating the alleged high profile killings between 1999 and 2007 has obtained a bench warrant for the arrest of former Anambra State governor, Chinwoke Mbadinuju.

The bench warrant obtained from an Abuja Chief Magistrate Court followed the refusal of the former governor to honour the panel’s invitation on his alleged involvement in the murder of the former Nigerian Bar Association Chairman, Anambra State Chapter, Barnabas Igwe, and his wife, Amaka, in September 2002 in Onitsha.

Police sources disclosed to the Saturday Tribune that the new dimension followed several written invitations to the former governor, which he bluntly refused to honour.

The source revealed that the former governor had always given the excuse that he had been cleared by a police report, which the Saturday Tribune can authoritatively reveal, was forged. The report was alleged to have been signed by former Principal Staff Officer to the Inspector General of Police, CP Solomon Arase, who is at present, attending a one-year course at the National Defence College, Abuja.

The source revealed to the Saturday Tribune that the panel had even obtained the statement of the former PSO, who has denied knowledge of the said report. According to the source, the former governor is currently flaunting the said report about which some lawyers have based their argument in writing petitions to the Inspector General of Police, Mike Okiro.

The police report disclosed that from the investigation so far, the former governor has a lot of questions to answer and wondered why he had refused to honour police invitation.