Court refuses to order police to leave Melaye’s residence

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The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday rejected an application for an order directing the police to remove their men from Senator Dino Melaye’s Abuja residence.

A detachment of policemen had been occupying the senator’s premises for about a week in their bid to arrest him for an alleged crime.

Melaye had through his lawyer, Mr. Nkem Okoro of the law firm of Mike Ozekhome (SAN), filed a fundamental right enforcement suit to challenge the police occupation.

Filed along the substantive suit was an ex parte motion, seeking an order directing the policemen to leave his premises, remove all blockades to the house and allow his family and political associates to have access to him, pending the hearing of the substantive suit.

Okoro, on Thursday, moved the ex parte application (usually heard in the absence of the other parties) before Justice N. E Maha.

Ruling on the ex parte application on Thursday, Justice Maha, who currently sits as the court’s vacation judge, refused to grant the request to order the removal of the policemen from the senator’s house.