Court rejects exparte motion to reinstate suspended CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi

An Abuja High Court on Wednesday rejected an ex-parte motion brought by the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Lamido Sanusi. Mr. Sanusi asked the court to set aside his suspension from office.

Mr. Sanusi was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan last Thursday over alleged financial recklessness and official misconduct.

The court instead ordered that the President should be put on notice, and fixed March 12 for both sides to argue the motion.

In the motion he filed on February 24, the CBN governor asked the court to reinstate him, and also make an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police from stopping or preventing him from performing the functions of his office and enjoying in full, the statutory powers and privileges attached to the office.

While urging the court to urgently grant the motion, Sanusi had argued that any delay might cause irreparable and serious damage and mischief on him in the exercise of his statutory duties as the CBN governor.

However, Justice Gabriel Kolawole on Wednesday, directed Sanusi to put the defendants on notice to enable them appear before the court to explain why the application should not be granted.

Justice Kolawole said he felt hesitant and constrained to grant Sanusi’s ex parte motion.

He explained that it was unsafe to grant far reaching interim orders, which have all the attributes of a mandatory injunction without giving the defendants a hearing.

Also, according to the judge, once the defendants have been served with the originating summons and motion on notice, the court would need to determine whether, considering the Third Alteration Act No. 20 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Federal High Court has the jurisdiction to entertain the suit or not.

The court said it would rather review Sanusi’s ex parte motion and as a result, directed that the motion be served on Jonathan and the other defendants by March 12.

Justice Kolawole thereafter fixed March 12 to hear the application.

Should the court determine that it has the jurisdiction to hear the suit, it could declare the suspension unlawful, and order that the plaintiff be returned to perform his duties as the CBN governor.

In the event that the tenure has elapsed, the court could also order the defendants to pay the plaintiff’s remunerations and allowances, if the suspension involved the stoppage of remunerations and allowances.