Justice James Omotosho, the presiding judge at a Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, awarded a N10 million fine against Festus Keyamo, the immediate past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, for filing a frivolous suit against Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The judge, in a ruling, awarded a N5 million fine each in favour of Abubakar and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, totaling a N10 million against Keyamo.
Justice Omotosho, who described the suit as “frivolous, vexatious and abuse of court processes,” directed that the fine should be paid “at 10 per cent per annum until the cost is finally liquidated.”
The order followed an oral application by the counsel for Atiku, Benson Igbanoi, and that of the ICPC, Oluwakemi Odogun, asking for cost after the matter was dismissed.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, 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 20 January.
In the application, he had sought an order compelling the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, ICPC, and the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, to probe and prosecute Abubakar.
