Atiku Abubakar, the candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has been dragged before the Federal High Court in Abuja by Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), on charges of corruption.
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were also named as defendants by Keyamo, who also serves as a spokesperson for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council.
The plaintiff wants the court to order the second, third, and fourth defendants to look into, contact, and/or arrest the first defendant, Abubakar, in connection with allegations of corruption involving a specific bank owned by a company called Marine Float and other accounts of two unnamed companies. According to Keyamo, this information was given to a specific aide by the name of Michael Achimugu.
Keyamo claimed in a statement published on his Twitter page that whistleblower Michael Achimugu made the claims public. He also claimed to have a certified true copy of the affidavit, which he hopes will be used as evidence in the lawsuit.
Its contents allegedly describe how the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in question were utilized between 1999 and 2007 while the first defendant was Nigeria’s vice president to covertly divert and misappropriate public funds.
While some political analysts have praised Keyamo’s initiative to combat corruption in the nation, others have downplayed Keyamo’s move, claiming that he wants to use the lawsuit to give his preferred candidate an advantage in the forthcoming presidential election.
#ATIKUGATE: FOLLOWING THE EXPIRATION OF MY 72-HOUR ULTIMATUM, I HAVE PROCEEDED TO THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT, ABUJA SUING ATIKU, CCB, ICPC & EFCC AND ASKING FOR INVITATION/ARREST AND INVESTIGATION OF ATIKU OVER THE SPV SAGA. I HAVE A RICH HISTORY OF SUCH BATTLES & I AM NOT STOPPING pic.twitter.com/O4u9mDevqi
— Festus Keyamo, SAN (@fkeyamo) January 20, 2023
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