The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has requested that the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court throw out a suit that was filed by Festus Keyamo, the minister of state for labor. The suit requested that former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar be investigated and prosecuted for his alleged involvement in financial crimes.
Additionally, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) requested that Justice James Omotosho throw out the case against Keyamo.
In the suit that was filed on January 20, the minister, who was also the spokesman for the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), had sought an order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to investigate and prosecute Mr. Abubakar. This was in response to allegations made by one of Mr. Abubakar’s former aides, Michael
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During the resumption of the hearing on Wednesday, attorneys for the EFCC and the ICPC, Samuel Okeleke and O.B. Odogu, presented two separate preliminary objections in which they questioned the suit’s legitimacy and asked the court to throw it out.
Mr. Okeleke argued that Mr. Keyamo did not comply with the requirement of the law when he filed the suit. He argued that he ought to have first obtained the leave of the court in seeking to compel an agency of the government to act. Mr. Okeleke’s argument was based on the fact that Mr. Keyamo did not comply with the law’s requirement.
The attorney argued that because the suit had not been filed in accordance with the rules, it ought to be disregarded.
“We do discrete investigation. He (Keyamo) gave us a 72-hour deadline in which to investigate and prosecute the first defendant. The deadline was given as an ultimatum. This is not how we conduct business. According to Ms. Odogu’s argument, “We take our time to do discreet investigation.”
During the oral argument of the preliminary objection that he had filed on behalf of his client, Mr. Abubakar’s attorney, Benson Igbanoi, raised concerns about the legitimacy of the lawsuit.
Mr. Igbanoi, who accused Keyamo of abusing his office, urged the court to decline jurisdiction on the grounds, among other things, that the plaintiff disclosed no cause of action. Mr. Igbanoi also urged the court to disregard the response filed against his preliminary objection by the plaintiff, arguing that it was filed outside of the seven days allowed under the court’s rules.
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O.C. Uju, the attorney representing Mr. Keyamo, urged the court to disregard the objections raised by the defendants and move on to the hearing of the case based on its merit. Mr. Uju cast doubt on the validity of Mr. Abubakar’s objection by pointing out that it was submitted at a time when the court had not yet assumed jurisdiction over the case and before he could be served with the originating processes. He argued that this rendered the objection incompetent.
The judge listened to both sides of the argument, and then postponed the case until June 5 in order to make a decision regarding the preliminary objections.