The Federal High Court in Abuja has been contacted in a petition by Festus Keyamo, the minister of state for labour and employment, to look into and prosecute former vice president Atiku Abubakar. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the court to deny the application.
Judge James Omotosho received a similar warning from the Independent Corrupt Practises and other related offences Commission (ICPC), according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
In his lawsuit, the minister—who also served as a spokesman for the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC)—asked for an order compelling the EFCC, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to investigate and prosecute Atiku in light of allegations made against him by one of his former aides, Michael Achimugu. The suit was filed on January 20.
Mr. Achimugu said that when Atiku served as vice president from 1999 and 2007, the two men planned to defraud the nation by utilising what he called “Special Purpose Vehicles.”
In the midst of the recent presidential election campaigns, Mr Keyamo, a member of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), asked the anti-corruption authorities to look into Atiku, the presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
During the hotly contested election, the former vice president was Bola Tinubu, the nominee for president from Mr Keyamo’s party primary,’s rival.
Lawyers for the EFCC and ICPC, Samuel Okeleke and O. B. Odogu, respectively, criticised the suit’s competence and requested that the court reject it during the resumed hearing on Wednesday.
In their preliminary objections, which they had submitted to the court, they requested that the case be dismissed.
Mr. Okeleke contended that Mr. Keyamo did not follow the law’s requirements when he filed the lawsuit, contending that he should have first requested the court’s permission before attempting to compel a government entity to take action.
The attorney argued that it should not be considered because the lawsuit did not follow the regulations.
For her part, Mrs Odogu argued that Mr Keyamo failed to properly contact her organisation, the ICPC, which she claimed operates covertly.
“We carry out covert inquiry. Keyamo gave us a deadline of 72 hours to look into and charge the first defendant.
“That’s not how we do things here, and we investigate quietly and take our time, she continued.
Benson Igbanoi, the legal representative for Atiku, criticised the suit’s competency in his preliminary objection defence.
Mr Igbanoi, who charged Mr Keyamo with abusing his position, sought the court to refuse jurisdiction because the plaintiff failed to disclose any causes of action.
He requested that the court ignore the plaintiff’s answer to his preliminary objection, claiming it was submitted outside the seven-day window permitted by the court’s regulations.
O. C. Uju, the attorney for Mr. Keyamo, requested the court to overrule the defendants’ objections and consider the matter on its merits.
The attorney questioned the legitimacy of Atiku’s objection, claiming that it was submitted before he could be served with the originating papers and before the court had taken on the issue.
After listening to the arguments made by the parties attorneys, the judge, Mr Omotosho, postponed the decision on the preliminary objections until June 5.
