COURT RULES ON SANUSI

Court rules on Sanusi’s suspension Tuesday

Mallam Lamido Sanusi

A Federal High Court in Abuja will on Tuesday (today) determine whether or not it was appropriate for President Goodluck Jonathan to have suspended Lamido Sanusi as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, without recourse to the National Assembly.

Sanusi was suspended as the CBN governor on February 20, precisely three months today.

The judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, had on April 8 fixed the judgment day after hearing arguments of parties on both Sanusi’s suit and the respondents’ notice of preliminary objection.

The judge will deliver a joint judgment on both the substantive suit and the notice of preliminary objection.

The Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Mohammed Adoke, and the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, are the co-defendants in the suit.

Sanusi had previously obtained two separate judgments from the Federal High Court in Lagos, against the Federal Government since his suspension.

The first was the one awarding N50m against the AGF and the State Security Service for seizing his passport on the day he was suspended.

The second judgment restrained the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria from investigating Sanusi on the grounds of bias.

The plaintiff’s lawyer, Kola Awodein (SAN), had during the hearing of the suit challenging Sanusi’s suspension, argued that the President lacked the powers to unilaterally suspend the CBN governor.

He argued that the President’s exercise of the executive powers provided in the Constitution was subject to the Act of the National Assembly.

Responding to the defendants’ objection to the suit, Awodein argued that the defendants misconstrued the plaintiff’s suit.

The defence, led by Fabian Ajogwu (SAN), had while arguing the preliminary objections, urged the court to strike out the suit because it was employment related.

They argued the by virtue of Section 254(1) (c) of the Constitution, the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdictional powers to hear the case.

On the main suit, they argued that the suspension of the plaintiff by the President was within his powers. They contended that the CBN was an agency of the Executive arm of the Federal Government, whose powers as contained in Section 5 of the Constitution is vested in the President.