2023 election: Court fines Keyamo N10m for filing frivolous suit against Atiku

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday awarded a N10 million fine against Mr. Festus Keyamo, the immediate-past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, for filing a frivolous suit against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s presidential candidate in the Feb. 25 election.

In a ruling, Justice James Omotosho awarded a N5 million fine each in favor of Abubakar and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC), making a total of N10 million against Keyamo.

Justice Omotosho, who described the suit as “frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of court processes,” directed that the fine be paid “at 10 percent per annum until the cost is finally liquidated.”

The order followed an oral application by counsel for Atiku, Benson Igbanoi, and that of the ICPC, Oluwakemi Odogun, asking for costs after the matter was dismissed.

Supreme reports that Keyamo, who was also the spokesperson of the dissolved Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), had filed the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/84/2023 on Jan. 20.

In the application, he sought an order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the ICPC, and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) to probe and prosecute Abubakar.

Keyamo based his action on claims by one of Abubakar’s aides, Michael Achimugu, that between 1999 and 2007, when he was vice president, he conspired with ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo to rip off the country using what he termed “special purpose vehicles.”

The ex-minister filed the suit after the 72-hour ultimatum he gave the three investigating agencies elapsed.

He alleged that Abubakar was in violation of Section 18(2) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and Section 96(1) of the Penal Code, hence unqualified to contest the Feb. 25 poll.

But Atiku (1st defendant), through his lawyer, filed a notice of preliminary objection, seeking an order dismissing the suit for being incompetent, lack of locus standi, want of jurisdiction, and non-disclosure of reasonable cause against him.

In their separate preliminary objections, the EFCC, ICPC, and CCB also challenged the competency of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court.

Delivering the ruling, Justice Omotosho held that he had two issues for determination: whether the suit was frivolous and whether the relief sought by Keyamo could be granted.

The judge, who said the jurisdiction of the court would be determined, also said that the locus standi of the applicant would also be looked into.

“Locus standi is the capacity of a party to institute an action. It interrogates what is the business of the plaintiff with the defendants

“The need for proper locus standi is to prevent a busy body from instituting a suit and restraining them from wasting the time of the court,” he said.

He said that though the court did not say that the ex-minister did not have a right to write statutory agencies to investigate Abubakar, he had not shown why he was affected by Abubakar’s action.

“A citizen of a country has a right to report crime, and that cannot be an infraction of the fundamental rights of any person.

“But the complainant is to complain to the statutory agencies and not drag the first defendant with the agencies to court to seek an order to compel the agencies to investigate the suspect,” he said.

Justice Omotosho held that investigating authorities had the discretionary powers to investigate any case and to know if such a case would warrant prosecution or not, citing previous cases to back his decision.

“The law is that the court cannot compel investigating agencies to perform their discretionary powers,’ he said.

The judge, who read Keyamo’s letter, wherein he gave the investigating agencies a 72-hour ultimatum to investigate Abubakar, said the Court of Appeal, in one of its decisions, cautioned public officers against abuse of powers.

He said that it was unheard of that a citizen would give statutory agencies 72 hours to investigate and prosecute an alleged offense.

“And immediately after the 72 hours, an action was filed.

“The question is, are 72 hours sufficient for the investigation and conclusion of an action of this nature?" The answer is no,” he said.

Omotosho, who said that Keyamo did not even give a reasonable time for the statutory bodies to act before filing the suit, said, “This means that the action was filed in bad faith.”

He said the case was frivolous and an abuse of the court process.

“The plaintiff, who is supposed to be a lawyer, would think that a suit compelling a statutory body will succeed in giving 72 hours?

“The plaintiff should know that these agencies are at liberty to decide when to investigate and when to conclude,” he said.

He said Keyamo acted as if he was “an errand boy.”

He said it was high time public officials knew that statutory agencies should not be used to settle political discord.

The judge, therefore, commended the EFCC, ICPC, and CCB for refusing to act in a way that would suggest that Keyamo was giving them directives.

“The plaintiff should know that such a suit will not succeed,” he said.

Omotosho, who described the suit as frivolous, vexatious, and an abuse of court process, consequently dismissed the suit.

Shortly after the ruling, ICPC’s lawyer, Odogun, asked for a N30 million fine in favor of his client.

She argued that the ICPC had been diligent in defending the matter and that time and resources had been wasted.

Also, Abubakar’s lawyer, Mr. Igbanoi, prayed the court for a N200 million fine against Keyamo, considering that his client was a former vice president and presidential candidate in the last election.

But Keyamo’s counsel, O. C. Uju, disagreed with the two lawyers request for the court to dismiss their application for costs.

The judge, however, awarded a N5 million fine each to Abubakar and the ICPC.