The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has prayed the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a case brought by Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, who wants former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar investigated and prosecuted.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) also wants the court to discard the case.
Information Nigeria had earlier reported that Keyamo filed the suit on January 20, seeking an order for the EFCC, ICPC, and the Code of Conduct Bureau to investigate and prosecute the February 25 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
The case is centered on claims by one Michael Achimugu, who alleges that between 1999 and 2007, Abubakar and ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo defrauded the country using “Special Purpose Vehicles.”
However, at a hearing on Wednesday, lawyers for the EFCC and ICPC argued that the suit is not valid and should be dismissed.
They claimed that Keyamo did not follow the proper legal procedures, adding that the ICPC works discreetly and was not approached correctly by Keyamo.
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O B. Odogu, the counsel for ICPC said, “We do a discrete investigation. He (Keyamo) gave us 72 hours ultimatum within which to investigate and prosecute the 1st defendant.
“That is not how we operate. We take our time to do a discreet investigation.”
Atiku’s lawyer also argued against the suit’s validity and accused Keyamo of abusing his office.
Keyamo’s lawyer, O. C. Uju, urged the court to dismiss the objections raised by the defendants and proceed to hear the case on merit.
Uju queried the competence of Atiku’s objection, arguing that it was filed when the court had not assumed jurisdiction over the case and before he could be served with the originating processes.
Having listened to the arguments by lawyers to the parties, Justice James Omotosho, adjourned the case until June 5 for ruling in the preliminary objections.
