BREAKING: Sanusi floors Nigerian govt; court awards him N50million damages

PREMIUM TIMES reported that, A Federal High Court in Lagos has restrained the Nigeria Police and the Department of State Services from arresting or harrassing the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido.
The court also ordered the DSS to release Mr. Sanusi’s passport to him immediately while also awarding the embattled CBN boss N50 million in exemplary damages.

Mr. Sanusi’s passport was seized on February 20, as he arrived the Lagos international airport, hours after he was suspended as CBN Governor by President Goodluck Jonathan. 

He was briefly detained as well.

Mr. Sanusi, in separate suits, challenged his suspension, and asked for an enforcement of his fundamental rights as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.

The court had on February 21 granted an interim order, restraining the respondents from arresting, detaining, or harassing the applicant pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The interim order was sequel to an affidavit of urgency filed by the applicant on the same date.

On Monday, the court adjourned to April 4 ruling on the preliminary objection raised against the restraining order by the SSS and the police.

The court has now ruled, saying the government and its agencies have no basis to arrest or harass Mr. Sanusi. The court also frowned at the seizure of the CBN Governor’s travelling documents.

During the hearing of the rights’ suit, on Monday, the respondents – the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF; the Police; and the SSS – made different claims.

The agency SSS said it was investigating Mr. Sanusi for allegedly financing terrorism.
The SSS counsel, Moses Idakwo, said Mr. Sanusi’s interaction with SSS officials did not last for up to an hour and did not constitute a violation of his rights.

He said the provisions of Section 6 of the National Security Agencies’ Act empowered the Service to impound the international passport of suspects pending the conclusion of investigations.

It is not clear how this fresh allegation by the SSS is related to the dubious claims by Mr. Omokri.

PREMIUM TIMES and a few citizen journalists had exposed how Mr. Omokri, using a non-existent alias, Wendell Simlin, created a document linking Mr. Sanusi with financing the terrorist Boko Haram group.

The document was later shown to have been created by Mr. Omokri, with several Nigerians calling for his sack. The presidency has kept mum since the scandal was exposed.
On Monday, however, Mr. Sanusi’s counsel, Kola Awodehin, accused the SSS of falsehood in its new claim against the bank chief, saying the agency had no shred of evidence.
The counsel to the AGF, Fabian Ajogwu, had objected to the suit, urging the court to strike it out for want of jurisdiction.
Mr. Ajogwu argued that the provisions of Section 254 (c) 1 (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) ousted the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
He noted that the case before the court borders on the applicant’s employment, saying that labour -related cases are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court, NIC.
“Section 254 (c) 1 (d) of the Constitution vests exclusive jurisdiction on the National Industrial Court, with respect to civil causes or matters touching on employment, labour or industrial relations.
“We respectfully urge the court to hold that it has no jurisdiction to entertain the reliefs sought by the applicant,” he said.
The counsel urged the court to strike out the suit.
Mr. Ajogwu also argued that the applicant should not, by the suit, seek to restrain the respondents from performing their constitutional duties.
He argued that Mr. Sanusi was being investigated based on the FRCN’s claims. He said the suspended bank chief was being investigated in accordance with the provisions of the law, which the respondents had a statutory duty to perform.
Citing the dictum of retired Justice Niki Tobi of the Supreme Court in the case of Adeniran vs Alao, Mr. Ajogwu submitted that a perpetual injunction would be everlasting and could not be granted by
a court of law.
“The applicant’s suit is basically an action to shield him from the machinery of administration of justice, which has been kick-started by the respondents,” Mr. Ajogwu submitted.
While the AGF said Mr. Sanusi was being investigated based on the FRCN investigations, the police said it was not investigating the CBN boss.
The counsel to the police, David Abuo, said nobody ever reported Mr. Sanusi to the police.
He, however aligned with Mr. Ajogwu, saying the case should be struck out as it seeks to bar government agencies from performing their duties.
However, responding to the respondents’ preliminary objection, counsel to Mr. Sanusi, Mr. Awodehin submitted that the court was vested with the jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
He argued that the suit had nothing to do with the terms of employment of the applicant or industrial relations, since it was not a case of the applicant against the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He argued that the applicant never sought an order of perpetual injunction, adding that the reliefs he sought were qualified.
“It cannot be suggested that the applicant is restraining the respondents from performing their duties, but they must be restrained from doing so without due process of the law.
“The seizure of the applicant’s international passport by the third respondent is a derogation of his freedom of movement,” he said.
Mr. Awodehin also argued that the different submissions by the three respondents showed that laws were being violated in Mr. Sanusi’s treatment.
“The first to third respondents give conflicting reasons as to the complaint made against the applicant.
“This conflict goes to show that they acted without due process of the law,” he said.
The counsel also argued that the SSS’ claim of financing terrorism was bogus.
“The allegation against the applicant as to funding of terrorism is an afterthought by the respondents which is not backed by facts, as there is no reasonable suspicion that the applicant committed any crime,” he said.
He urged the court to dismiss the preliminary objection and uphold the case of the applicant.

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Akin Osuntokun: The improbable banker and the unlikely President

I contend that it is absolutely possible to take the whistleblower saga out of the equation and still find sufficient cause to sanction the suspended CBN governor. Sanusi’s choice of opting to dispense with his terminal leave has no meaning other than daring the president.

According to YNAIJA.COM, We were political and intellectual collaborators. Like many Nigerians I first took notice of him as a regular newspaper contributor. Back then he was an intellectual rebel in the political debate over the wild fire regionalist push for the enthronement of Sharia jurisprudence in the Northern Muslim states. He called to question the propriety and honesty of purpose of the introduction of Sharia especially the orthodox penal code in a context that does not fulfil the condition precedent. To convict an offender and proceed to exact the severe punishment presupposes the prerequisite of a society where no one is compelled to steal in order to assuage hunger and basic necessities of life. He argued and rightly so in my view that such a precondition does not exist in Nigeria and the Nigerian society must ab initio be deemed as failing to satisfy the primary condition for the introduction of Sharia. I should know because he contributed an elaborate version of this position as a chapter in a book published to commemorate my 40th birthday.

Many observers would be hard put to see continuity between this vocations and the banking profession yet they overlapped the occupation of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as a top manager at the United Bank of Africa (UBA), at the material time. Inherent in him is the contradictory character traits of humility and arrogance. In his father and grandfather he inherits the DNA of non-conformity and aristocratic hauteur. That he made a success of his banking career owes less to any special aptitude for banking and more to the fact that people of his talent make-up would generally make a success of any assignment they are given.

Moreover, the job description of what needed to be done at the central bank and the Nigerian economy he inherited was not that of a conventional banker but that of a bold and knowledgeable reformer who could think and act outside the box. He has the appeal of a radical who can get the job done and gladly step on toes if that was required of his mission. The late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, himself a radical of sorts, saw and admired in him what President Olusegun Obasanjo saw and wanted in Nasir el-Rufai when he was shopping for a minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Without prejudice to the allegations against him, I think he generally acquitted himself brilliantly as the governor of the central bank but he was equally immensely flawed. He was too political, controversial and confrontational. He was self-adulating and gave the impression that his accomplishments amount to a licence to redefine the job profile of the CBN governor in his own image; he was unduly populist and constructed the CBN as a law unto itself.

By temperament and disposition, President Goodluck Jonathan projects a totally different personality from Sanusi. And this is where the ultimate collision between the two was foretold. It is an open secret that President Jonathan is a tentative and shy political aspirant. From his first prime time political exposure as Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State to becoming president, it is difficult to read any high flying political ambition in his mien.

If any Nigerian were to be asked what he considers the president’s most conspicuous shortcoming, only few would disagree with the verdict of too tentative and lacking in requisite assertiveness. He appears hesitant and bereft of resolve to adequately grapple with the power and authority of his office. Ordinarily it is a good trait for the wielder of enormous power to be sparing in its usage but too much of any good thing becomes a vice. Taking the totality of Sanusi’s conduct under Jonathan into account, I cannot find fault with the president wielding the big stick at one point or another.

The problem with any president desirous of giving full effect of his office to sanction any errant behaviour borders on legitimacy. The more legitimacy a government garners, the greater the latitude it has to reward and sanction. Unfortunately, Jonathan has not availed himself of a number of opportunities gifted him to build a reservoir of political capital that he needs to draw upon in moments like this. By omission he has demonstrated an ambivalent attitude towards fighting corruption and takes too long to act on the damaging behaviour of associates and subordinates in situations where quick and decisive action is of the essence.

I contend that it is absolutely possible to take the whistleblower saga out of the equation and still find sufficient cause to sanction the suspended CBN governor. Sanusi’s choice of opting to dispense with his terminal leave has no meaning other than daring the president. If this interpretation is valid, then Jonathan will be less of a president if he fails to call the bluff. The autonomy of the central bank certainly does not tantamount to untouchability.

It is possible to separate the revelations of unaccounted funds from the personality of Sanusi and still hold the government accountable for whatever remains outstanding of the duty to unravel the mystery of the so called missing money. As the limitation of time bound tenure indicates, Sanusi is not indispensable to the fight for transparency and accountability in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). And there is a cautionary tale here for all occupants of high and sensitive public office, and that is the need to verify and authenticate facts before going public. The instability of the figures being trotted around may do no harm to political theatre but it pointedly derogates from the credibility of the whole story.

Wither Goes Ecobank International

The late President Nelson Mandela brought glory, honour and positive global attention to South Africa. No period was this exemplified better than his funeral ceremony when the world stood as one to pay homage to a truly global moral icon. The right to host the 2010 World Cup was really conceded, not won by South Africa-as a mark of honour and respect to Mandela. The recurring issue, long before he died but especially after his death was that beneath the huge positive glow of his symbol remains a bureaucracy and economy that are largely wedded to the old apartheid ways. Barely a year ago we all watched in horror as the world was treated to a tragic sense of déjà vu as scores of harmless gold mine strikers were mowed down in cold blood by the South African police.

Perhaps apprehensive of offending the oppenheimer business dynasty and the largely intact apartheid era economic establishment, President Jacob Zuma compounded the sense of tragedy with an apologetic and quiescent governmental response.

I first visited South Africa in 2005 to oversee the regional bureau of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Johannesburg-in my capacity as the managing director of NAN. From the less than warm visa courtesy to the patronising and insolent reception by the South African representative of Reuters — I went there to lay down the law and warn them of the repercussions of not honouring their long standing debt to NAN; to the disturbing experience of an orchestrated propagation of negative news about Nigeria; to the shocking information of institutionalised and coordinated effort to bankrupt and frustrate the Pan African avant-garde success of THISDAY South Africa; I was left in little doubt of the reality that expectations of chummy African brotherhood relationship between Nigeria and South Africa would be dashed.

Nigerian economic refugees were the worst affected, they lived in daily fear for their lives and were in constant danger of violent assault by indoctrinated fellow South African low income earners. Considering the front row exposure of Nigeria to the apartheid struggle —Nigeria was so conspicuous in the fight against apartheid that regardless of the geographical gap separating Nigeria from South Africa, it was designated a frontline combatant state by the apartheid regime — one would have thought that one good turn deserves another. Among thousands of South Africans who found refuge and sanctuary in Nigeria at the height of the apartheid struggle was no other than the successor to Mandela as President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki.

These were the ruminations agitating my mind as I learnt of the hostile takeover bid of Ecobank International by South African corporate raiders. They are coming on the heels of telecommunication counterparts like MTN and Multichoice. Both companies have had an outstanding business run in Nigeria but this success story has tended to be achieved at the expense of Nigeria holding the short end of the bargain. It took the coming on board of Glo to force the issue of the monopolistic excessive call rates being charged by MTN and (then) ECONET. Persistently and going on two years now the GSM companies especially MTN have become notorious for the deteriorating quality of services.

It is a platitude to suggest that the buoyancy of Multichoice will evaporate without the life saver anchor of the Nigerian market. The bad news is that Nigerian competitors, notably Hitv, that were set to replicate the liberation effect of Glo were muscled out, through means fair or foul by Multichoice. The continuation of this trend is clearly discernable in the take-over bid of Ecobank International by South Africa.

Africa continental economic integration is a laudable objective but this should not be without regard to balance, fairness and equity. In terms of the capacity to muster venture capital, South Africa enjoys a clear and lopsided comparative advantage over the sub-Saharan economies. South Africa should be told that might does not amount to any right to ride roughshod over other nascent African economies. And if Nigeria must realise her manifest destiny as the bastion of Africa and the black world it must wake up to the responsibility of protecting the interest of its economy by acting up in situations like this.

South Africa through the agency of Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the equivalent of Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund authority has launched a fresh move to take total control of Ecobank — the leading independent regional banking group in West and Central Africa.

Ecobank is rightly regarded as the pride of West Africa. It was established in 1985 with the full support of ECOWAS which originally held the largest shares. With 18.5%, PIC is presently the largest shareholder while Nigeria’s AMCON owns about 8%. Plans have been perfected to oust the chief executive of the bank Thierry Tanoh and replace him with a South African at the next shareholders meeting on March 3rd. Nigeria and all concerned must rise up to this challenge and checkmate the take-over bid by the South African buccaneers. The Ecobank International is a Nigerian and West African heritage worth protecting and preserving.

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Why Jonathan suspended Sanusi – Abati

Having taken special notice of reports of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and other investigating bodies, which indicate clearly that Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterized by various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a
Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence transparency and financial discipline;

Being also deeply concerned about far-reaching irregularities under Mallam Sanusi’s watch which have distracted the Central Bank away from the pursuit and achievement of its statutory mandate; and Being determined to urgently re-position the Central Bank of Nigeria for greater efficiency, respect for due process and accountability, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from the Office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

President Jonathan has further ordered that Mallam Sanusi should hand over to the most senior Deputy Governor of the CBN, Dr Sarah Alade who will serve as Acting Governor until the conclusion of on-going investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the CBN.

The President expects that as Acting Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Alade will focus on the core mandate of the Bank and conduct its affairs with greater professionalism, prudence and propriety to restore domestic and international confidence in the country’s apex bank.

The Federal Government of Nigeria reassures all stakeholders in Nigeria’s financial and monetary system that this decision has been taken in absolute good faith, in the overall interest of the Nigerian economy and in accordance with our laws and due process.

Reuben Abati
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)

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