The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Dino Melaye filed a lawsuit against president-elect Bola Tinubu, but the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) objected.
According to reports, Dino Melaye and the PDP are requesting a mandamus order to compel the NDLEA to detain and charge Tinubu over the allegedly forfeited funds in his bank accounts in the US over 20 years ago.
Read Also Allen Onyema: It’s a Privilege to Help Evacuate Nigerians Stranded in Sudan, I Will Deploy 3 Jets
NDLEA claimed that the application by the PDP and Melaye, as the first and second applicants, was incompetent in its notice of preliminary objection, which was signed and submitted at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 by Joseph Sunday, its Director of Prosecution and Legal Services.
The anti-drug agency also stated that the court should be dismissed because it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.
Pay Attention To Senate President: EFCC invites Akpabio over corruption allegation
Neither the PDP nor Dino Melaye, according to the NDLEA, had the legal authority to file the lawsuit.
The agency claimed that the first applicant’s only underlying specific interest eventually turns political.
The NDLEA claims that Tinubu’s investigation and prosecution were intended to disqualify him as a legitimate presidential candidate.
Pay Attention NDE unemployment registration form
The agency claimed that a mandamus order was an equitable remedy that should only be used in good faith and shouldn’t have any unintended consequences.
The statement read: “The doctrine of judicial self-restraint prohibits this honourable court from focusing on issues with a political tinge or issues intended to achieve direct or indirect political goals.”
It was stated that the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division proceeding served as the basis for the PDP application and that the judgement in the proceeding was rendered “with prejudice.”
“The said proceedings and judgement have no judicial value,” it continued, “and as a result, the claimed cause of action of this suit as constituted is baseless and legally unsustainable.”
Read Also See why Otedola exits Transcorp almost immediately after acquiring shares
In an affidavit in support of the agency’s preliminary objection, Chia Depunn, a litigation officer attached to its Directorate of Prosecution and Legal Services, stated that the NDLEA had a positive relationship with the government of the United States of America as an independent government body tasked with the duty of looking into, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals involved in drug trafficking and other related offences in Nigeria.
It went on to say that Bola Tinubu’s name had never come up in correspondence with the US, “by whatever acronyms or combinations of names.”
Depunn further asserted that Tinubu’s name did not appear in the agency’s radar or database as a suspect in any arrests, inquiries, or prosecutions related to drug or other related offences.
- Breaking: Buhari Approves Postponement Of 2023 Census
- Popular ex-lawmaker arrested for r*ping wife’s niece
- Shehu Sani Exposes Actual Reason Behind FG’s Decision To Postpone 2023 Census
The agency noted that even though it relied on intelligence and information from domestic and international partners as well as public-spirited individuals, PDP and Melaye had not brought any charges against Tinubu regarding illegal drug activities until January 17, 2023.
