CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi
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Justice J.T. Tsoho gave the order on Friday in a suit filed by Mr. Sanusi through his counsel, Kola Awodehin.
A Federal High Court in Lagos has given a preservatory order restraining the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, from investigating the suspended Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi.
Justice J.T. Tsoho gave the order on Friday in a suit filed by Mr. Sanusi through his counsel, Kola Awodehin.
Friday’s order comes 24 hours after a separate court ruled that Mr. Sanusi was illegally detained and his passport illegally seized by the Department of State Security Service, SSS, after his suspension. The court ordered the payment of N50 million damages to Mr. Sanusi.
On Friday, Justice Tsoho barred the FRCN from investigating Mr. Sanusi and the Central Bank, CBN, pending the determination of the suit.
Mr. Sanusi had on March 27 refused to appear before the Council which was investigating allegations of financial recklessness against the CBN boss.
In a letter to the Executive Secretary of FRCN, Jim Obazee, to explain why his client would not honour the Council’s invitation, Mr. Awodein, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said the invitation was not only in bad faith, but premeditated to embarrass and disparage his client.
President Goodluck Jonathan had suspended Mr. Sanusi from office on February 21, 2014 following the recommendation by the Council, which accused the CBN, under his leadership, of financial recklessness.
The recommendations followed the Council’s review of Mr. Sanusi’s response to its report on the audited financial statement of the CBN for the year ended December 2012 and other related issues, which it described as unsatisfactory.
Following the receipt of the Council’s invitation on March 14, 2014, Mr. Sanusi said he responded two days later seeking clarification on the specific activities of the CBN the FRCN was investigating.
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