ABUJA, Nigeria – A case against the immediate past attorney-general of the federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, accused of abusing his office, was adjourned on Monday, July 10, 2023, by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
Justice Oluyemisi Adelaja pushed back the hearing and instructed that all court papers be served on Malami, to allow him to prepare his defence.
The case, which has drawn national attention, seeks to compel Malami to pay N1 billion as damages to international businessman and property developer, Mr. Cecil Osakwe.
Osakwe alleges that Malami, using his former position as AGF, coerced him into giving two units of a three-bedroom property located in Maitama, Abuja, to a civil servant, Mrs. Asabe Waziri, against a subsisting court order.
“The AGF acted with malice and abused his office by raising a charge of ‘collecting money under false pretence’ against me,” Osakwe told the court, asserting that the charge was used to facilitate the complete handover of his property to Mrs. Waziri, who is also a defendant in the case.
Osakwe’s legal counsel, Mr. Victor Giwa, criticised Malami’s absence from the court. “We need to send a message to public officers that they cannot use their office to pursue personal interest,” Giwa declared, expressing his disappointment in Malami’s alleged misuse of public office.
In contrast, Mrs. Waziri’s counsel, Mr. C.J. Abengowe, argued that since Malami was not represented in court, the matter could not proceed as planned.
Taking into account the arguments presented by both parties, Justice Adelaja agreed to provide Malami another opportunity to respond to the allegations.
The hearing of the high-profile case was consequently deferred, with observers anticipating the ex-AGF’s eventual response to the serious accusations made against him.
