The Tamale High Court on Monday withdrew the bench warrant it issued for the arrest of the Member of Parliament (MP) for Savelugu, Iddrisu Jacob Abdulai.
This was after the presiding judge, Justice Richard Kogyapwah took notice of explanation by counsel for the indicted MP during proceedings at the court on Monday.
On March 31, 2023, the court issued a bench warrant for the arrest of the MP after he failed to appear in court, where he was standing trial for unlawfully possessing a firearm.
The MP, led by Haruna Iddrisu, former Minority Leader, and MP for Tamale South, and accompanied by Alhassan Suhuyini, MP for Tamale North, appeared in court today for the proceedings to offer solidarity for the MP.
Haruna Iddrisu, in an interaction with journalists after the proceedings in court, said “For good reason, the Judge exercised lawful discretion, lawfully and with justification that he (Judge) was not convinced of his (MP’s) absence in court on 31st March, and accordingly issued a bench warrant for his arrest.”
“The MP is a responsible MP and will never ever be a fugitive of justice. He did not exercise good judgment in the reason he provided to the court, which did not please my lord.”
“Probably within the realm of the doctrine of separation of powers, beyond being ill and beyond being indisposed, we probably would have to make a strong argument whether Parliamentary emergencies cannot be a justification because that particular day, the MP had to be in Parliament to vote on some tax legislation.”
Meanwhile, prior to proceedings, several supporters of the National Democratic Congress massed up at the High Court in Tamale, to show solidarity with the MP.
The numbers were so huge that many of them had to be restricted outside the fence of the court, a situation, which temporarily disrupted traffic on the main road in front of the court.
Police officers, deployed to maintain law and order at the court, were initially heckled by the crowd before being allowed to access the court’s premises.
By Vincent Kubi