SUSPENDED governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, on Monday, won another judicial battle against the Federal Government, as the Federal High Court in Lagos upheld his suit challenging the power of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria to investigate him over alleged financial recklessness.
The fresh judgment came barely two months after another Federal High Court in Lagos upheld Sanusi’s fundamental human rights enforcement suit, whereby he challenged his detention for about one hour at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, by the Department of State Security (DSS) and the seizure of his international passport.
Justice John Tsoho, in a judgment on Monday, granted all the releifs sought by Sanusi and restrained the FRC from going on with the probe.
The judge ruled that Sanusi was right to have rushed to court to stop the probe, because it was evident that the whole arrangement was orchestrated to nail him ab initio.
Giving proverbial words to back his position, Justice Tsoho likened the FRC probe to a cockroach finding itself in the midst of fowls, adding that such cockroach could never be innocent.
While stating that prevention was better than cure, the court ruled that Sanusi was absolutely right to approach the court to protect his constitutional rights.
Dismissing the argument of the FRC that the probe was not only about Sanusi, and that the ex-CBN boss ought to have presented himself for the probe, Justice Tsoho ruled that the briefing note sent to President Goodluck Jonathan was revealing, as it was obvious that the FRC instigated the probe and had indicted Sanusi even before its commencement.
The judge also dismissed an insinuation in the briefing note that Jonathan’s political opponents might use the report to nail the president, saying the insinuation also proved the prejudice which the FRC had towards Sanusi.
The court consequently upheld all the reliefs sought by Sanusi, including “a declaration that the defendant’s recommendation regarding the plaintiff in a briefing note, dated June 7, 2013, that he be removed from office as CBN governor, were ultra vires their powers under the FRCN Act 2011.
“A declaration that the proposed investigation, as advertised in the Punch newspaper of March 24, in the circumstance of having reached a conclusion in the briefing note of June 2013, before embarking on the investigation, is tantamount to a breach of natural justice.”
In the suit, Sanusi had listed the FRC and the Executive Secretary of the council, Jim Obaze, as first and second respondents respectively.
Source: Tribune
