Group drag Atiku to court over N500m campaign debt

Maryam Abeeb

A socio-political organization known as Nigerian Continuity Progressive (NCP), has summoned former vice president of Nigeria and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to an FCT High Court holding in Abuja over an alleged N500,000,000 campaign debt.
According to the Writ of Summons signed by Danmusa Williams, Registrar of the court in a suit number CU/2065/200, the former vice president alongside the Director-General of his campaign organization, Dr. Nat Yaduma are to appear before the court for failing or refusing to pay NCP their engagement fee for about two years of the contract agreement.
The court further affirmed that should Atiku and Yaduma fail to respond to the summon at stipulated time, the claimants would be awarded the sum of money in question as well as other damages the alleged debt would have caused the claimants.
The summon reads: “You are hereby commanded that within fourteen days after the services of the writ on you, inclusive of the day of such services, you do cause an appearance to be entered for you in an action at the suit of Dr. Lawan Sambo Ismaila and Nigerians Continuity and Progressives (NCP), and take notice that in default, the claimants may proceed, and judgement may be given in your absence.”
On his part, council to the claimant – Morris O. Osakwe Esq. made the following claims before the court: “The claimants aver that they carried out their own part of the contract in arranging, organising and making of rallies on behalf of the 1st Defendant, which the 2nd Defendant, being the Director-General of the 1st Defendant was monitoring and evaluating the job been executed by the Claimants and the Nigerians Continuity and Progressives (NCP), until the election was conducted.
“The Claimants aver that at the time election was to be conducted for the presidential poll, the 1st Defendant appealed to the claimants and members of the NCP to be patient with him that he will ask the 2nd Defendant to deliver the payment to the bank account of the NCP, but the Claimant have waited endlessly without receiving the payment of N500,000,000.00 until date”.