By PAUL ADAJI, Judiciary Correspondent –

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has ordered the publication in national newspapers of a bench warrant issued against Walter Ubaka Okeke, a former Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant in Anambra State.

Justice Chinwendu Nwogu granted the prosecution’s application on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the case marked PHC/924/CR/2023: The State v. Walter Ubaka Okeke.

Okeke is being prosecuted over the alleged theft of oil-servicing materials valued at ₦800 million belonging to Ifeanyi Amaonye, a Port Harcourt-based businessman described in the proceedings as his tenant.

The publication order is intended to facilitate the execution of the warrant and secure Okeke’s appearance before the court.

Prosecuting counsel, Chidi Eke, a deputy director in the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, had sought the court’s permission through an oral application to publish the warrant in national dailies.

Defence counsel, E. S. Ekene, opposed the application, arguing that the prosecution ought to have proceeded by a motion on notice.

In his ruling, Justice Nwogu upheld the prosecution’s application. Reviewing the history of the matter, the judge noted that the bench warrant dated back to 2023 and that the defendant had challenged it on appeal.

The judge held that publication was warranted where the court was satisfied that a defendant was evading trial. He explained that the measure would enlist the assistance of security agencies in apprehending the defendant and bringing him before the court.

Justice Nwogu directed that Okeke be apprehended wherever he could be found and brought to the Port Harcourt Correctional Centre. He adjourned the case until November 30, 2026, for the continuation of trial.

Speaking to journalists after the ruling, Eke said the publication would draw wider attention to the outstanding warrant and support efforts to execute it.

“Today, the court has granted us order, leave of court, to publish the said bench warrant in any number of the national dailies, so that every effort would be made to have him arrested and brought before the court on the next adjourned date, being November 30, 2026,” he said.

Eke alleged that Okeke had travelled to the United Kingdom and made himself unavailable for trial, frustrating efforts to execute the warrant. He also said the defendant’s appeal against the warrant had been dismissed.

The prosecutor urged Okeke to appear before the court and pursue any relief available to him through the judicial process.

“The process is for him to appear before the court,” Eke said.

He maintained that a defendant’s social standing or political background should not prevent the enforcement of court orders.

“It doesn’t matter what office you occupy, it doesn’t matter what name you bear, it doesn’t matter your status in society; the law is the law, and the law will take its course,” he said.

The allegations against Okeke remain subject to determination by the court.