The court fined the former Minister Buhari, because he badmouthed Atiku, fabricated and slandered him The case that had been launched agains...
The court fined the former Minister Buhari, because he badmouthed Atiku, fabricated and slandered him
The case that had been launched against Atiku Abubakar, the candidate for president of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), by Festus Keyamo, a former minister of labor, was thrown out by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the lawsuit that Keyamo filed against Atiku in court, he requested that the court direct the EFCC and any other relevant anti-corruption authorities to arrest Atiku on charges of corruption that have been brought against him.
Prior to the presidential election on February 25, the complaint was submitted by Keyamo, who is the Campaign Spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress (APC) campaign.
But when it came time for him to render his verdict, Justice James Omotosho tossed out the case, referring to it as "nonsense" and "evil plot."
On account of this, the judge handed down a fine of 10 million naira to Keyamo on Monday.
The judge decided that Atiku should receive 5 million naira from Keyamo as compensation for the time that was wasted. In addition to that, he compensated ICPC for the time that Keyamo had squandered.
If Keyamo does not pay the compensation within one year of the court's order, then the court has ordered that he be charged an additional ten percent each year until he does pay.
The case that was filed by Keyamo was defended by Atiku's attorney Mike Ozekhome and the attorney for the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Oluwakemi Osugun.
All three of Keyamo, Ozekhome, and Odogun are considered to be senior attorneys (SAN).
The judge stated that the matter that Keyamo brought before the court did not raise any jurisdiction, that it just wasted the time of the court, and that she avoided following the regulations that are in place for the filing of cases in court.
Atiku Abubakar's attorney argued to the judge, prior to the case being thrown out, that Festus Keyamo does not have the legal standing to sue Atiku Abubakar since he did not specify how the charges made against Atiku harmed him. The judge ultimately decided to throw out the case.
