Mallam Lamido Sanusi
The
suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, has
dragged President Goodluck Jonathan before an Abuja Federal High Court
in a suit he filed to challenge his suspension from office.
In the application filed on his behalf
by his lawyer, Kola Awodein, SAN, Sanusi is asking the court to restrain
the President, the Attorney General of the Federation and the Inspector
General of Police from giving effect to his purported suspension from
office as the CBN governor, pending the determination of the suit.
He is equally asking the court to make
an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants “from
obstructing, disturbing, stopping or preventing him, in any manner
whatsoever, from performing the functions of his office as the Governor
of the Central Bank of Nigeria and enjoying in full, the statutory
powers and privileges attached to the office.”
Urging the court to expeditiously grant
his interlocutory application, Sanusi maintained that any delay may
cause irreparable and serious damage and mischief on him in the exercise
of his statutory duties as the CBN governor.
He stated “The President’s continuing
unlawful interference with the management and administration of the apex
bank, unless arrested, poses grave danger to Nigeria’s economy.”
He insisted that the danger his
suspension posed to the economy was enough reason for the court to grant
his application and as a result make an order for status quo ante bellum to enable him to return to his office as the CBN governor.
In an affidavit deposed in support of
the suit, Sanusi linked his suspension to the discrepancies he reported
in the remittances of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to the
Federation Account.
He explained that in the course of his
duties as the CBN governor, he discovered certain discrepancies in
respect of amounts paid into the Federation Account from the proceeds of
crude oil sales between the period of January 2012 and July 2013.
He added that he expressed concern in
respect of the said discrepancies and also informed the National
Assembly of same “because they affect the revenue of the federation and
the national economy.”
Sanusi added that in purporting to suspend him from office, Jonathan was punishing him for the disclosures he made.
Sanusi stressed that the President did not approach nor obtain the support of the Senate before suspending him.
He disclosed that some senators,
particularly a former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki,
had informed him that Jonathan did not consult the upper legislative
chamber before taking the action.
“I have been informed, and I verily
believe the information given to me by Senator Bukola Saraki to be true
and correct that the Senate did not give the President any support for
my purported suspension and removal from office as the Governor of the
Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said.
Sanusi further stated that his purported
suspension was contrary to provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria
Act relating to the appointment and removal of the CBN governor.
According to him, his purported
suspension amounted to “unlawful interference in the administration and
management of the apex bank and is illegal, null and void.”
He therefore urged the court, in the interest of justice, to grant his reliefs.
The suit has not been assigned for hearing.
Source PUNCH.
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