- Seeks N1bn as damage
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja, over alleged abuse of office.
Also dragged before the court alongside the minister is a civil servant, a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, Ms Asabe Waziri, who is said to be at the centre of the case while the AGF is being accused of bias in its prosecution.
Asabe, a civil servant was said to have bought a property worth N130m in Maitama District of Abuja from Abeh Signature Ltd, a company owned by Cecil Osakwe . The sale led to a fierce legal battle over the control of two units of 3-bedroom flats between Asabe Waziri and Cecil Osakwe.
In a fresh suit, filed by the international businessman and property developer, Mr Cecil Osakwe, he is praying the court for an order of N1b damages against the AGF.
Osakwe, through his lawyer, Mr Victor Giwa, claimed that his reputation have been damaged through the actions and decisions of the AGF in a civil case between two individuals.
Osakwe filed the suit against Malami in his personal and official capacity for abused of his office, as minister of justice, when he preferred charges against him(Osakwe) and used the charge as a tool to blackmail and arm-twist him to give out two units of 3-bedroom flats in one of his properties at Mekong close Maitama, Abuja to Asabe Waziri, even against valid Court Order.
Barrister Giwa further claimed that the attorney general, used his office to supervise the continuous harassment of Osakwe, by men of the Nigerian police force on matters that are purely civil with respect to the sales of the property.
According to him, his client brought the action against the AGF both in his official and personal capacities, claiming that Malami acted with malice, and abused his office in raising charge of “collecting money under false pretence’’ from Asabe Waziri, when he was fully aware that Asabe Waziri moved into the property and lived in the said property for over eight months before she was eventually evicted from the property by a lawful court order that terminated the sales transaction between both parties.
The matter is yet to be assigned.