Court issues arrest warrant for PDP factional chairman Turaki

Court issues arrest warrant for PDP factional chairman Turaki

By Jeffrey Agbo

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has ordered the arrest of Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, a factional National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), after he failed to appear in court to face a criminal charge.

The bench warrant was issued on Thursday by Justice Peter Kekemeke, following Turaki’s absence at proceedings where he was expected to respond to a one-count charge filed by the office of the Inspector-General of Police.

Turaki, who served as Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs between 2013 and 2015, is accused of providing false information to the police in a petition he submitted in 2022.

According to the charge, marked FCT/HC/CR/647/25 and filed on November 15, 2025, the alleged offence took place within the court’s jurisdiction in Abuja.

The charge reads: “That you, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, (SAN), ‘m’, No. 37 T.Y. Danjuma Street, Asokoro, Abuja, on or about October 5, 2022, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, gave false information to the Inspector-General of Police via a petition dated October 5, 2022.”

The alleged offence is said to be punishable under Section 140 of the Penal Code Law.

Earlier, police prosecutor Usman Rabiu had urged the court to invoke Section 143 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015 to compel Turaki’s appearance, citing repeated failures to attend hearings.

The case was initially assigned to Justice K.N. Ogbonnaya but was later reassigned to Justice Kekemeke after the defendant wrote a petition to the Chief Judge, expressing doubts about the fairness of the proceedings.

The court noted that the defendant had been properly served with hearing notices but failed to offer any valid reason for his absence. Consequently, Justice Kekemeke ordered that Turaki be arrested and brought before the court for arraignment.