A Federal High Court in Lagos has declared the seizure of suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr Lamido Sanusi’s passport unlawful, and therefore has asked the Federal Government to return the document and tender a public apology to Mr Sanusi.
Justice Ibrahim Buba, who presided over the case, also awarded the sum of N50m as damages in favour of the suspended CBN Governor.
The court, in a judgment which lasted about two hours, clarified that it had jurisdiction on the matter contrary to the Federal Government’s claim that the appropriate court for the suit was the National Industrial Court which had exclusive jurisdiction over labour related issues because it was an employer/employee relationship. The court, after reviewing the case and the relevant sections of the law, punctured that claim and said that it was a fundamental rights issue, since Mr Lamido Sanusi was not complaining about any labour related issue even though the cause of action arose out of an employment dispute.
The court further restrained the Federal Government through its agents or representatives from arresting and detaining Mr Sanusi without following due process of law, and restrained the government from interfering with Mr Sanusi’s freedom of movement.
The court also agreed with Sanusi’s argument that the allegation of terrorism financing made by the Federal government was an afterthought because even a careful look at documents put before the court showed that there was no evidence provided by the FG to substantiate the allegation.
The court held that it was unlawful for security agents to arrest and detain a person before looking for evidence.
“The mere suspicion of a commission of crime does not give security agents the authority to arrest and detain a citizen,” said Justice Ibrahim.
The court also held that it is only the Minister of Internal Affairs that has the power to withdraw a citizen’s passport under section 5 of “Issuance of Passport and Miscellaneous Act”.