Nobody ordered my arrest — Senator Nwaoboshi

Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, representingDelta North in the upper legislative chamber, has refuted recent media reports that a magistrate court in Abuja has ordered for his arrest.

In a statement issued to the press in Kaduna on Friday and signed by the counsel to the  Senator, Muhammad Sani Katu  disclosed that, ‘the attention of distinguished Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, the senator representing Delta North in the National Assembly, has been drawn to media reports that the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has secured a court order  for his arrest.

“The purported order for the arrest of the senator,  according to the reports,  was for his alleged involvement in the criminal conspiracy, diversion of public funds and official corruption.

ALSO READ: CBN, NDIC liquidate Skye Bank as AMCON takes over

“In the unbalanced and biased media   report, the authors  claimed that   the order for the arrest of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, dated September 18, 2018 was    issued by  a Wuse Zone 2 Magistrates’ Court,  Abuja, and signed by one Akanni Olaide, the Chief District Judge II, Federal Capital Territory,” the statement stated.

Katu said it was based on the above claim that Senator Nwaoboshi decided to set the record straight.

According to the statement, “the report was totally false, even on the face value.  It cannot pass any logic to be believed, as it was written in bad faith to smear the image of the distinguished senator.

“We want the general public to know that no such order for the arrest of Senator Peter Nwaoboshi was given by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property  on the said date.

For the records, the panel had on the 7  September invited Senator Nwaoboshi to appear before it on September 17, 2018 to answer some questions over a petition written against him on alleged corruption and abuse of office.

“Having received the letter, Senator Nwaoboshi, being a law abiding citizen Nigeria, through his lawyers, wrote to the panel, requesting for a new date due to unavoidable circumstances. In his  letter , he  agreed to appear before the panel on September 27, 2018, a copy  of which was signed and acknowledged by the panel.

‘Surprisingly, the Senator was amazed and shocked  to read in the national dailies and social media about the order for his arrest by the court over his failure to honour the invitation by the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property

It is instructive to note that Senator Nwaoboshi is a distinguished Nigerian, who by every standard, respects constituted authorities. And  as such, there is no reason for him not to honour an invitation  extended to him  from a legally constituted body such as the  Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property or other relevant government agencies.