Court Stops Further Probe Of lamido Sanusi By FRCN

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The probe of the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) was yesterday ordered to be put on hold by a Federal High Court, Lagos.

Justice James Tsoho ordered that status quo be maintained until the determination of a suit filed by Sanusi in which he is contesting the competence of the council to probe him.

Sanusi wants the court to stop his investigation by the FRCN.

The court ordered that “status quo as at the time of instituting this suit, be maintained, until it is determined.”

He is seeking a declaration that the FRCN in constituting itself into an investigating entity as reported on March 24 is ultra vires (beyond) its powers.

He asked the court to declare that the defendant’s conduct, actions and decision is illegal,saying that FRCN’s declarations in a briefing note submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan were ultra vires their powers as contained in the FRCN Act, 2011.

He said that the FRCN having already reached a conclusion as to his culpability as CBN governor, as indicated in the briefing note, can no longer conduct any investigation on the same matter.

Sanusi also sought the following: “A declaration that the defendants’ recommendation regarding the plaintiff in briefing note dated June 7, 2013, that he be removed from office as CBN Governor, was ultra vires their powers under the FRCN Act 2011.

“A declaration that the proposed investigation as advertised in the Punch newspaper of March 24, in the circumstance of having reached a conclusion in the briefing note of June 2013, before embarking on the investigation, is tantamount to a breach of natural justice.

“A declaration that the defendants do not have the power to conduct investigation as advertised in the newspaper.”

The suspended CBN governor asked for an order restraining the defendants or their agents from conducting and continuing any investigation or inquiry regarding him.

He also prayed for an order setting aside or nullifying any report, conclusion or recommendation, based on any purported investigation conducted by the FRCN.

Meanwhile, the defendants –FRCN and its Executive Secretary – have filed a preliminary objection to Sanusi’s suit.

They are challenging the court’s jurisdiction to entertain the case.

Justice Tsoho said that he would hear the objection and the plaintiff’s motion together.

He adjourned the case till April 11 for hearing.

The order came 24 hours after another Federal High Court , Lagos presided over by Justice Ibrahim Buba awarded N50million to Sanusi and ordered security agencies to release his international passport.

He also asked them to apologise to Sanusi for arresting and detaining him soon after his removal as CBN governor.

The decision to suspend Sanusi Lamido was based on an FRCN report dated June 7, 2013.

The report was made after a review of Sanusi’s response to the query issued to him by the President over the apex bank’s financial statement of 2012. His response was dated May 20, 2013.

The council stated that the explanation provided by the suspended CBN governor is “a clear display of incompetence, nonchalance, fraud, wastefulness and abuse of due process and deliberate efforts to misrepresent facts on the part of the leadership of the CBN.”

The council advised the President to exercise the powers conferred on him by Section 11(2)(f) of the CBN Act 2007 or invoke Section 11(2)(c) of the said Act “and cause the governor and the deputy governors to cease from holding office in the CBN.”

The report reads in part: “The particulars of the infractions against Sanusi are: Persistent refusal and/or negligence to comply with the Public Procurement Act in the procurement practices of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“(A) By virtue of Section 15 (1)(a) of the Public Procurement Act, the provisions of the Act are expected to comply to ‘all procurement of goods, works and services carried out by the Federal Government of Nigeria and all procurement entities.’ This definition clearly includes the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“(B) It is, however, regrettable that the Central Bank of Nigeria, under his leadership, has refused and/or neglected to comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA). You will recall that one of the primary reasons for the enactment of the PPA was the need to promote transparency, competitiveness, cost of effectiveness and professionalism in the public sector procurement system.

“(C) Available information indicates that the Central Bank has over the years engaged in procurement of goods, works and services worth billions of Naira each year without complying with the express provisions of the PPA.

“(D) By deliberately refusing to be bound by the provisions of the Act, the CBN has not only decided to act in an unlawful manner, but has also persisted in promoting a governance regime characterised by financial recklessness, waste and impunity, as demonstrated by the contents of its 2012 Financial Statements.

“Unlawful expenditure by the Central Bank of Nigeria on ‘Intervention Projects’ across the country: (A) the unacceptable level of financial recklessness displayed by the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria is typified by the execution of ‘Intervention Projects’ across the country. From available information, the bank has either executed or is currently executing about 63 such projects across the country and has committed over N163billion on them.

“(B) it is inexcusable and patently unlawful for any agency of government to deploy huge sums of money as the CBN has done in this case, without appropriation and outside CBN’s statutory mandate. It is trite that the expenditure of public funds by any organ of government must be based on clear legal mandates, prudent costing and overriding national interest.”

FRCN also accused Sanusi of financial infractions and acts of financial recklessness.

It said: “In a most ironical manner, it has become obvious that the CBN is not able to prepare its financial statements using applicable International Financial Reporting Standards (IFFS) whereas Deposit Money Banks that the CBN is supervising have complied with this national requirement since 2012.”