Court orders arrest of Dana Air MD over N1.3bn fraud

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has issued an arrest warrant against the Managing Director of Dana Air, Hathiramani Ranesh, over his refusal to appear in court to stand trial.

Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in a ruling on Monday, November 4, 2024, held that the arrest of Ranesh is necessary following his refusal to appear in court after he was served with the charge and several proceedings taken in the matter.

Justice Egwuatu held that in line with Section 184 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, the court can issue an arrest warrant against any defendant who refuses to appear in court.

The judge said: “The first defendant is bound to appear before the court and if he does not, the court can issue a warrant for his arrest.

“Accordingly relying on the said provision, I hereby issued a warrant of arrest for the arrest of the first defendant

“The defendant shall appear before this court on 13th of January, 2025, before any objection can be taken.”

Justice Egwuatu, thereafter, adjourned the matter until January 13, 2025, for hearing.

The federal government, through its lawyer, Mojisola-Okeya Esho, had, on October 10, prayed the court to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the Dana Air boss.

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Esho said Ranesh refused to appear for his arraignment in the alleged N1.3 billion fraud preferred against him by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

But the defence lawyer, B. Ademola-Bello, disagreed with Esho.

He argued that they had filed a preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter and that the prosecution had already been served.

Esho, on her part, objected to taking the preliminary objection on the ground that the defendants ought to be arraigned before the court could entertain any other application.

The judge then adjourned the matter until today (November 4) for the arraignment and/or hearing of preliminary objection.

The AGF had filed a six-count charge against Ranesh and two others.

In the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/101/2021 and filed by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions in the office of the AGF and Minister of Justice, Moshood Adeyemi, Dana Group PLC and Dana Steel Limited were joined as second and third defendants, respectively.

In one of the charges, Ranesh and the two companies, alongside others at large, were alleged to have committed a felony between September and December 2018 within the premises of DANA Steel Rolling Factory in Katsina.

Ranesh had not appeared in court since the case commenced before Justice Egwuatu.

The Star