Suspension: Sanusi Loses Round One In Court

Suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido

Sanusi’s bid to return to office suffered a setback,Wednesday as the
Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, dismissed an ex-parte motion
that sought for his immediate reinstatement.

In a ruling, Wednesday, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, said it would not be in
the interest of justice for him to grant such application without hearing
from those that were dragged before the high court by the embattled CBN
governor.

Consequently, Sanusi, was ordered to go and serve the relevant court
processes on President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General of the
Federation and the Inspector General of Police, who were all listed as
defendants in the matter, even as the substantive suit was adjourned to
March 12 for hearing.

Nevertheless, Justice Kolawole, maintained that should the court, at the
conclusion of the matter, discover that the CBN governor was wrongfully
suspended without recourse to the due process of the law, he said the
court has the constitutional powers to not only void the suspension, but
also order that he should return to office to perform his duties as the
head of the apex bank.

According to the Judge, even where the tenure had lapsed, the court could
order the defendants to pay the plaintiff such remunerations and
allowances that ought to have accrued to him within the period of his
suspension, “this is in any event that the suspension carries with it the
stoppage of the plaintiff’s remuneration and allowances.”