The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, on Thursday, dismissed a professional fee suit seeking \u20a61,818,357,756.86 against the Abia <\/a>State Government.<\/p>\n The Abuja Court held that the action constituted an abuse of court process.<\/p>\n The suit, No. CV\/1136\/24, was filed by Olusola Oke, SAN.<\/p>\n The Court upheld a preliminary objection argued for the State by Ken Ahia, SAN, who had also successfully argued a similar objection in an earlier suit involving the same parties and claims.<\/p>\n In its defence, the Abia <\/a>State Government contended that it had already paid over \u20a62 billion to a previous consultant on the same subject matter, and further argued that Olusola Oke, SAN had acted as counsel for Imo State, the claimant in the derivation matter, while Abia <\/a>State was represented by its Attorney-General, making the alleged fee claim unsustainable.<\/p>\n The Court held that refiling substantially identical claims amounted to forum shopping and ruled that the proper order was dismissal rather than being struck out.<\/p>\n By the decision, Abia <\/a>State was spared exposure to a minimum liability of N1,818,357,756.86.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n