Mrs Jonathan fined N50,000 for withdrawing suit against EFCC

A former first lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan is to pay a fine of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira only) for withdrawing a suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Justice S. Seidu of a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, imposed the fine on Mrs Jonathan.

Mrs Jonathan, had in her suit, sought an order of the court for the “enforcement of her fundamental human rights to own property, fair hearing, human dignity, private and family life and freedom from discrimination”.

In a defence led by I. A. Adedipe, SAN, she prayed the court to retrain the EFCC from encroaching on those “rights”. Prosecution counsel, Kayode Oni, faulted Jonathan on her prayers before the court, arguing that her suit was an abuse of court processes.

At the resumption of hearing on the matter on Monday, one of the defence counsels, Sammie Somiari, addressed the court on a notice of discontinuance of the suit, saying that he had an instruction of his client to discontinue the matter.

Read also: EFCC seizes Patience Jonathan’s N2bn hotel

He said that an application had been filed before the court to that effect.

Counsel to the EFCC submitted that Mrs. Jonathan has a right of discontinuance but pressed for a charge of N500,000 ( Five Hundred Thousand Naira only) as costs of filing processes in response to the suit.

Justice Seidu struck out the suit and awarded a cost of N50,000 (Fifty Thousand Naira only) as a fine against the plaintiff.

Dame Patience Jonathan instituted the suit against the EFCC in February, 2017.

 

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