FCT, Abuja – The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out a lawsuit of N1 billion against the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari and the embattled former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the trial court dismissed the suit, which was over the hardship that followed the naira redesign policy.
Who dragged Buhari to court?
The suit, which was filed by an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Uthman Isa Tochukwu, was dismissed by Justice Ekwo over a lack of diligent prosecution.
Justice Ekwo maintained that there is a conviction that the plaintiff had abandoned his own case deliberately, citing his consistent absence from the court. The court said that the applicant did this without a legal representation or any explanation.
In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/418/2023, the plaintiff named ex-President Buhari, the attorney general of the federation, former CBN governor Emefiele, the CBN and two commercial banks. The applicant had claimed that the defendants inflicted a series of hardships on him while implementing the naira redesign policy.
Why Buhari was dragged to court
Bala Dakum, the plaintiff in the suit, which was filed on his behalf by his counsel, alleged that his fundamental rights to freedom of movement and the dignity of his person were breached violently.
The legal practitioner specifically alleged that his movement was restricted while he was unable to access his money in the two commercial banks because of the hardship orchestrated by the naira redesign policy in January and March 2023.
He then asked the court to award the damages of N1 billion against Buhari and other defendants, the money would be paid to him for the violation of his fundamental rights.
Why court dismissed N1bn suit against Buhari
However, during the hearing of the suit on Monday, April 28, the plaintiff and his counsel were absent from the court, and they did not give any excuse for their absence.
Counsel to Emefiele and the CBN, Chikelue Amasiani, drew the judge’s attention to the persistent absence of the applicant in the court during the past sittings on the matter.
Amasiani explained that since the suit was filed in 2023, Dakum and his counsel had not shown commitment and seriousness to the prosecution of the case. He then asked the court to strike out their application. He then promised to show seriousness should the plaintiff decide to revive the case. The judge then agreed with the counsel and struck out the application.
EFCC raises fresh alarm on ex-CBN gov
Legit.ng earlier reported that the EFCC has alleged that Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the CBN, awarded contracts without passing through the Contract Tender Committee.
According to the commission, Oluwole Owoeye, the third prosecuting witness in the suit against Emefiele, claimed before the federal high court on Tuesday.
Owoeye is the head of the MCTC, and he told the court that none of the contracts awarded by Emefiele during his time as the CBN governor passed through the court.
