Keyamo alleged that Atiku colluded to fleece the country of public funds using what he termed as “Special Purpose Vehicles” (SPVs).
By Emma Ogbuehi
Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, on Friday made good his threat to sue the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, over alleged corrupt practices.
At the expiration of the 72-hour ultimatum to three anti-graft agencies to arrest, interrogate and prosecute Atiku for allegedly fleecing public funds, Keyamo dragged them to court and joined Atiku in the suit dated January 20, 2023.
Announcing the suit on Friday on Twitter, Keyamo wrote:
“#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 and I am not stopping.”
On Monday, Keyamo, who is also the spokesman of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu presidential campaign, petitioned chairmen of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), accusing the PDP candidate of four major infractions.
The junior minister gave the agencies 72 hours to initiate arrest, investigation and possible prosecution of the former Vice President.
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Keyamo alleged that Atiku colluded to fleece the country of public funds using what he termed as “Special Purpose Vehicles” (SPVs).
He maintained that with the public revelations of a whistleblower, Mr Michael Achimugu, and pieces of evidence, Atiku has a case to answer, calling on the three anti-graft agencies to arrest, interrogate and possibly prosecute the former Vice President within 72 hours.
In a suit filed on Friday at an Abuja Federal High Court against the CCB, ICPC and EFCC, the Minister prayed the court to make a mandatory order compelling the anti-graft agencies to invite and/or arrest, investigate and (if found wanting) prosecute Atiku in respect of the information available to him “in respect of a certain bank account belonging to a company named Marine Float and other accounts of two undisclosed companies, which information he disclosed to a certain close aide of his called Michael Achimugu, as to how the said accounts were used as “Special Purpose Vehicles” to secretly divert and misappropriate public funds between 1999 and 2007 when the 1st Defendant served as Vice President of Nigeria.”
He also asked for a mandatory order compelling Atiku to make himself available to the anti-graft agencies “to aid and investigate the former Vice President on information available to him in respect of a certain bank account belonging to a company named Marine Float and other accounts of two undisclosed companies, which information he disclosed to a certain close aide of his called Michael Achimugu, as to how the said accounts were used as a “Special Purpose Vehicles” to secretly divert and misappropriate public funds between 1999 and 2007 when the 1st Defendant served as Vice President of Nigeria.”
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
