“I Was Never Served Any Court Process” — NBA Gwagwalada Chair Petitions Kwara JSC Against Two Judges Over Arrest Warrant In Tinubu’s ADC Defamation Case

The Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Gwagwalada Branch, Abuja, N.D. Abdulsalam, has petitioned the Kwara State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) against two judges of the Upper Area Court 3, Ilorin, accusing them of gross judicial misconduct, abuse of court process, corruption and violation of his constitutional right to fair hearing over the issuance of a warrant for his arrest before he was served with court processes in a criminal defamation case.

The petition, addressed to the Chairman of the Kwara State JSC, named Hon. Y.O. Abdulhamid and Hon. P.A. Agboola as the judicial officers whose conduct the NBA chairman wants investigated.

Abdulsalam alleged that the judges issued a warrant of arrest against him in a criminal defamation case instituted by Lieutenant Colonel Nurudeen Yusuf Alowonle, an Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to President Bola Tinubu, without first ensuring that he was served with the criminal complaint or given an opportunity to appear before the court.

In the petition titled “Petition Against Hon. Y.O. Abdulhamid and Hon. P.A. Agboola, Judges of the Upper Area Court 3, Ilorin, Kwara State, for Gross Judicial Misconduct, Abuse of Court Process, Corruption and Blatant Breach of Constitutional Right to Fair Hearing,” the lawyer called for an immediate investigation into the judges’ handling of the proceedings and appropriate disciplinary measures if the allegations are established.

According to Abdulsalam, the dispute arose from a Direct Criminal Complaint dated October 28, 2026, filed against him by Lt. Col. Yusuf over alleged criminal defamation of character.

He explained that the court issued both a warrant of arrest and a criminal summons on October 29, 2026, with the summons directing him to appear before the court on November 3, 2026.

However, the NBA chairman maintained that he had neither been served with the complaint nor received any notification of the criminal proceedings before police officers from the Kwara State Police Headquarters contacted him in Abuja between November 2 and 3, informing him of their intention to execute the arrest warrant.

He said the development came as a surprise because he had not been formally notified of any pending criminal case against him.

Abdulsalam disclosed that he only became aware of the actual warrant and criminal summons on November 4, 2026, after seeing copies of the documents circulating on Facebook.

According to him, the documents were published on the Facebook page of an associate of the complainant, identified as Engr. Owoeye Adewole.

He questioned why the court issued an arrest warrant before ensuring that the criminal complaint and summons had been properly served on him.

The lawyer further stated that the court subsequently issued another criminal summons directing him to appear on November 10, 2026.

He explained that it was not until the evening of Friday, November 6, 2026, that he received copies of the Direct Criminal Complaint dated October 28, the criminal summons dated October 29 and an order for substituted service granted by the court on November 3.

Abdulsalam argued that the order for substituted service indicated that the initial efforts to serve him had not been completed, even though police officers had already contacted him in Abuja to execute the arrest warrant.

In his petition, he described the sequence of events as a judicially procured ambush, alleging that the court processes exposed him to the risk of arrest before he had been properly notified of the criminal proceedings.

“The said order for substituted service then confirmed that I was never served any of the processes yet officers from Kwara State Police Headquarters were already in Abuja to execute the warrant of arrest on 2nd November, 2026,” he stated.

Abdulsalam maintained that the judges failed to observe the procedural requirements governing the issuance and service of criminal summonses before resorting to an arrest warrant.

“The procedural steps of the court to summon Defendant, serve same for the attendance of the Defendant in court before warrant of arrest is issued against a Defendant who failed to honour the summons was deliberately skipped and hurried,” he stated in his affidavit.

He argued that the alleged failure to serve him before issuing the warrant violated his constitutional right to fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

The NBA chairman maintained that the issuance of an arrest warrant without prior service of the relevant court processes amounted to an abuse of judicial authority and could expose defendants to intimidation and harassment.

In an affidavit of facts filed before the High Court of Kwara State in the Ilorin Judicial Division, Abdulsalam identified himself as the defendant in the case of Lt. Col. Nurudeen Yusuf Alowonle v. N.D. Abdulsalam, Esq., marked UAC III/WCRFJ/41/2026A.

He stated that the facts contained in the affidavit were within his personal knowledge, having been directly affected by the proceedings.

The affidavit reiterated his allegation that the warrant of arrest and criminal summons were issued on October 29, while police officers contacted him between November 2 and 3 to execute the warrant before he received the court processes.

Abdulsalam further accused the judges of abandoning judicial neutrality and acting in a manner that, in his view, appeared to favour the complainant.

“The Court has descended into the arena of justice having issued processes depicting court witch-hunts, thereby serving as agents of the Complainant to mete out pre-trial punishment on me,” he alleged.

He consequently urged the Kwara State JSC to conduct an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation into the conduct of Hon. Abdulhamid and Hon. Agboola in their handling of the criminal complaint.

The petitioner also requested appropriate sanctions and disciplinary measures against the judges if they were found culpable, arguing that such action would discourage misconduct and abuse of judicial processes.

“My Lord, the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man. Left unchecked, actions of this nature will completely erode public confidence in our courts. I trust that Your Lordship will act decisively to safeguard the sanctity and integrity of the Kwara State Judiciary,” he stated.

Copies of the petition were forwarded to the Chief Judge of the High Court of Justice, Ilorin; the Attorney-General of Kwara State and Commissioner for Justice; the Director of Area Courts at the High Court Complex, Ilorin; and the Chairman of the NBA, Ilorin Branch.

The petition comes amid a separate controversy involving Lt. Col. Yusuf, who is also identified as the traditional ruler of Ilemona in Kwara State.

The Offa Descendants Union (ODU) had earlier accused the presidential aide of alleged intimidation, harassment, land encroachment and threats against residents and farmers in communities bordering Offa.

The union also raised concerns over the alleged deployment of individuals it described as militia groups against residents of the affected communities.

It demanded the release of a detained resident, Mr. Suwara Agundingbadi, if there was no lawful basis for his continued detention.

The ODU further expressed solidarity with an Offa-born lawyer, Nurudeen Temitope Abdulsalam, whom it said had raised concerns over alleged intimidation and threats to his life.

These concerns were contained in a communiqué issued by the union’s National Executive Committee following an emergency meeting held on Friday, November 6, 2026.

The communiqué, dated November 7, was signed by the union’s Global President, Dr. Alhaji Muideen Azeez Olaniyi Salako, and Global Secretary, Otunba Dr. Rauf Abiodun Oladipo.

According to the union, tensions between Offa and neighbouring Ilemona had escalated over the past two years, particularly following Yusuf’s emergence as the traditional ruler of Ilemona after his father’s death.

The allegations against Yusuf form part of the wider dispute raised by the union and have not been established as judicial findings.

Meanwhile, Abdulsalam’s petition focuses specifically on the conduct of the two Upper Area Court judges and the legality of the procedures followed in issuing the warrant for his arrest.

He is seeking the intervention of the Kwara State JSC to investigate the allegations and determine whether the judges violated established judicial procedures and his constitutional right to fair hearing.

The petition raises questions about compliance with criminal procedure, service of court processes and the circumstances under which a court may issue an arrest warrant against a defendant who alleges that he was never served with a summons.

The allegations against the judicial officers remain claims made by Abdulsalam pending any findings by the appropriate disciplinary authority.

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