Hope of early return to office by the
suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, was
dashed on Wednesday when an Abuja Federal High Court refused an ex
parte motion he filed in a bid to set aside his suspension by President
Goodluck Jonathan.
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
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