Malami slammed with N1bn suit over alleged abuse of office

The Federal High Court in Abuja has approved the hearing of a lawsuit charging Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, of abusing his position.

The lawsuit also asks for an injunction compelling the AGF to pay Mr. Cecil Osakwe, a prominent international businessman and property developer, N1 billion in damages.

In the legal action he brought, the plaintiff claimed that the AGF used his position to pressure him into renting two units of three-bedroom flats in one of his properties in Maitama, Abuja‘s Mekong Close to a civil servant named Mrs. Asabe Waziri.

The plaintiff’s legal team was led by Mr. Victor Giwa.

Osakwe alleged that Malami forced him to hand the property worth about N130 million to Mrs. Waziri, against a subsisting order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

Read Also:Malami dismisses claim on illegal sale of 48m barrels of oil

The plaintiff testified before the court that the AGF interfered in a civil dispute his business had with Mrs. Waziri and took advantage of his authority to oversee his ongoing harassment by security personnel.

The plaintiff also claimed that Malami had wrongfully violated both his official and personal rights, and he sued Malami for both of these alleged violations.

By accusing him of “collecting money under false pretence,” the AGF allegedly committed an act of malice and abuse of power in an effort to ensure that the property was entirely transferred to Mrs. Waziri, who was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

The plaintiff asserted that Malami took the action despite being aware that the second defendant had initially moved into the subject property and remained there for more than eight months before being evicted by a valid court decision that ended the parties’ sales agreement.

As a result, in addition to asking the court to rule that the AGF abused his position, the plaintiff also asked the court to order him to pay N1 billion in damages.

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