The conflicting court orders in Bayelsa State regarding a dud cheque allegedly issued by the member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Southern Ijaw Federal Constituency, Mr. Preye Oseke.
There is confusion over a directive given to the Zone 16 of the Nigeria Police to arrest the lawmaker.
While the State High Court sitting in Yenagoa and presided over by Justice T. Y. Abasi had on November 17, 2020, dismissed the suit numbered YHC/77/2020 filed by the claimant, Ekpete Committee against Preye on basis of being statute barred, another court issued a warrant of arrest against Preye.
The other court, presided over by Senior Magistrate Vuru Christopher, in his ruling on the suit numbered OMC/MISC/1/2020 and also filed by Ekpete Committee in a motion ex parte, ordered that the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), who is the 3rd respondent, should issue a warrant of arrest against the 2nd respondent, Preye, who is a director at Presco Engineering and Construction Limited.
In his statement of claim before the State High Court, the claimant stated that though two undated bank cheques were issued to him by the lawmaker with a promise not to present the bank cheque until funds were in the account.
“Consequently, on the 10th day of October, 2019, the defendant transferred another sum of N800,000, only being a sum of two months interest to the claimant,” the statement said.
According to Magistrate Christopher, after hearing from the applicant’s counsel, Sonny Okorodas, the AIG, Zone 16 should produce Oseke Preye before the court upon the complaint of the complainant/applicant for the offence of issuance of dud cheques.
Speaking with newsmen after the hearing, the applicant, Ekpete, argued that the accused member of the Federal House of Representatives, Preye, allegedly issued to him two bank cheques of N2 million and N2. 8 million in April 2019 but the cheques bounced at the United Bank of Africa (UBA).
He said all attempts to recover his money from the lawmaker failed as he allegedly avoided him.
The loan agreement allegedly reached between Preye and the applicant, Ekpete, on the 12th of March, 2018 showed that a loan of N2 million was extended to Preye with an agreement on repayment.
The agreement says, “Failure to pay shall amount to payment on a simple interest basis monthly until the borrowed value shall be liquidated. Alternatively, the undersigned guarantor to the borrower shall be held liable in case of default by the borrower. Any default, the borrower shall be liable to the cost of litigation.”
