Court Orders Patience Jonathan To Pay EFCC N50,000

So, the former first lady Patience Jonathan decides to withdraw her case against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

And then the court decided to penalise her by asking her to pay a fine of 50,000 naira.

The former first lady had in February sued the EFCC for the alleged breach of her fundamental human rights.

She asked Justice Saliu Seidu to declare that the freezing of her $20 million bank accounts and those of her relatives by the anti-graft agency as a gross violation of her rights to fair hearing and to own property.

Mrs. Jonathan had asked the court to rule that the ransacking of her family property by the officials of the EFCC was illegal and also demanded the payment of 2 billion naira in damages.

Counsel for the EFCC, Kayode Oni, faulted Mrs. Jonathan on her prayers before the court, arguing that her suit was “an abuse of court process.”

At the resumed hearing of the matter on Monday, Sammie Somiari who represented Mrs. Jonathan addressed the court on a notice of discontinuance of the suit, saying that he had “an instruction of his client to discontinue the matter.”

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

In response, Oni submitted that Patience had a right to discontinue the case, but pressed for a charge of 500,000 Naira as the cost of filing processes in response to the suit.

The judge refused to grant the EFCC’s 500,000 request but awarded 50,000 cost against Mrs Jonathan, the plaintiff.