The Chief Magistrates’ Court (Upper), sitting in New Karu in the Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, has vacated a restraining order imposed on various bank accounts owned by a real estate dealer, Odupaye Abimbola Joseph.

Odupaye Abimbola Joseph and company, Tigers Property LLC, had been charged before the court for allegedly obtaining N457 million under false pretence.

This caused INTERPOL to commence an investigation into the matter, which subsequently led to the freezing of Odupaye’s bank accounts on grounds of alleged fraud.

However, the court, while ruling on the motion filed by Joseph’s lawyer, C.S. Igwe, Esq. of Waterbridge Solicitors, vacated its earlier directive to arrest and impose a “post no debit” restriction on various bank accounts belonging to Odupaye Abimbola Joseph.

The ruling was delivered by His Worship Abdulsalam Abubakar, Esq., in suit numbers M/312/2024, M/313/2024, M/314/2024, and M/315/2024.

Reacting to this in a statement on Sunday, Joseph’s legal team said, “The ruling delivered in favour of Odupaye Abimbola Joseph marks a pivotal resolution in a case that attracted considerable media attention.

“Previously, several media outlets had extensively covered reports calling for the arrest of Odupaye Abimbola Joseph.

“The court’s order to vacate the arrest warrant and financial restrictions on Odupaye Abimbola Joseph’s accounts stands as a testament that indeed our courts still uphold the fundamentals of justice.”

The statement added that Odupaye expressed his gratitude to the judiciary as the ruling reinforced his belief that “the court is the last hope of a common man.”

He further prayed that the ruling would conclusively end the allegations and unfounded rumours tarnishing his reputation. (Sunday PUNCH)