The Somanya Magistrate Court in the Eastern Region has issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Mo­hammed Alhassan, accused of violating the building code.

He failed to appear before the court, presided over by Derek Ocloo, three consecutive times after he was charged with building without a permit at Onu­maku in the Yilo Krobo Munici­pality of the region.

In 2018, officers of the Works Department of the Assembly undertook building inspection, to ensure that people building within the municipality obtained building permits.

Mr Martin Abotsi, the En­vironmental Health Officer and prosecutor for the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly told the Ghana News Agency that the inspecting team came across a single-storey building by the road at Onumaku, belonging to Alhassan.

He said the assembly asked the accused to take the necessary steps to obtain a building permit but he failed to do so.

Mr Abotsisaid that building without a permit is likely to result in substandard buildings and buildings at unauthorised places.

He said since the “accused had proven recalcitrant and failed to appear before the court after he was served, the court has granted the assembly a bench warrant to arrest the accused.”