The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a lawsuit filed by Festus Keyamo, SAN, which called for an investigation into alleged corruption by former Vice President and 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar.
Keyamo, a former campaign spokesperson for President Bola Tinubu, had accused Atiku of using ‘Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs)’ to unlawfully enrich himself during his tenure as Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007.
The foundation of Keyamo’s case relied on an affidavit purportedly sworn by Atiku’s former media aide, Michael Achimugu, who made damning allegations against his former boss.
Keyamo aimed to compel anti-corruption agencies to investigate Atiku for his alleged corrupt activities.
However, the Federal High Court in Abuja ultimately dismissed his case.
In response to the court’s decision, Keyamo’s lawyer, John Ainetor, released a statement outlining the grounds for dismissal and expressing their intention to appeal.
“Earlier today, a Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed the case filed by Festus Keyamo, SAN, CON, against the candidate of the PDP in the last Presidential Election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over the SPV saga principally because the court was of the opinion that the law enforcement agencies were not given enough time to commence investigations before the suit was filed, amongst other sundry reasons,” Ainetor stated.
He further added, “Our client respectfully disagrees with the reasons for the said decision because the law enforcement agencies did not indicate their willingness to commence investigations, even if they were given more time. We want to establish a legal principle that the society cannot wait indefinitely for law enforcement agencies to fulfill their statutory duties.”
Undeterred by this setback, Keyamo’s legal team remains determined to appeal the court’s ruling.
