Sanusi Drops Case against Jonathan

Tobi Soniyi
In a move aimed at mending fences with President Goodluck Jonathan, the Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammadu Sanusi II, has discontinued the case he filed against the federal government challenging his suspension from office.

As part of the fence mending measures, Sanusi, THISDAY gathered, may also pay a courtesy call to the president soon, following the overtures he had made to him personally and through intermediaries since his appointment as the emir, seeking Jonathan’s forgiveness for his public utterances.

Since Sanusi’s letter to the president on the non-remittance of $49.8 billion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Federation Account was leaked, there has been no love lost between both men.

Even after an inter-agency reconciliation of crude oil sales and remittances, Sanusi defiantly insisted that the NNPC had not remitted $10billion or $12billion to the Federation Account, but was later to revise the figure upwards to $20 million during his appearance before the Senate Committee on Finance which was probing his allegations.

The uproar that followed Sanusi’s allegations resulted in his suspension as the CBN governor on February 20 by the president, who insisted that he had been removed over allegations of financial recklessness.

But in reaction to his removal from office, Sanusi had filed a lawsuit against the federal government at a Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging his suspension.
However, the trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, had ruled that although Sanusi had an arguable case, the proper forum to ventilate his claim was before the National Industrial Court (NIC) and not the Federal High Court.

He held that the case bordered on industrial matters and could not be adjudicated upon by the high court. Justice Kolawole consequently transferred the case to the NIC.
In transferring the case, Justice Kolawole said in line with Sections 251 and 254 of the 1999 Constitution, the CBN was a creation of the National Assembly, and Sanusi was a public officer.

The judge further held that since Sanusi was an employee of the CBN by virtue of the CBN Act No 7 of 2007, he was a public servant whose appointment was a labour related matter that could be properly adjudicated upon by the industrial court.
Joined in the suit as defendants were President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General of the Federation, and the Inspector General of Police.

However, the defendants were not satisfied with the refusal of the court to dismiss the case, they consequently lodged an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja.  Sanusi was also dissatisfied with the judgment and had also filed an appeal.
Both appeals were still pending as at the time Sanusi withdrew the case from the NIC.
In the suit, Sanusi had said the president had no power to suspend him as CBN governor and asked the court to reinstate him.

But at the last hearing of the lawsuit before the NIC, his lawyers had sought an adjournment to enable them consult with him in view of his new status as the Emir of Kano.

Although his lawyers could not be reached on the phone, one of the defence lawyers, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), confirmed to THISDAY that a notice of discontinuance had been filed by Sanusi’s lawyer.

In the Notice of Discontinuance dated July 1, 2014, and filed same day, his lawyers said the former CBN governor was no longer interested in continuing with the case.