Financial recklessness: Sanusi knows fate May 12

A Lagos Federal High Court yesterday fixed May 12 for judgment in a suit instituted by the suspended Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, challenging the legality of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria to investigate allegation of financial recklessness levelled against him.

Justice John Tsoho arrived at the date after Sanusi’s lawyer, Kola Awodein and FRC’s counsel , Adesegun Ajibola, adopted and argued their respective cases.

Sanusi, who joined the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and the Executive Secretary of the Council, Jim Obaze, as first and second respondents respectively, is alleging in the suit that apart from the fact that the principle of fair hearing was ignored, he was nailed before the commencement of the investigation against him.

Adopting the address, Awodein argued that the FRC lacked the power to carry out the wide ranging investigation into the books of CBN under Sanusi, as the probe was in breach of fundamental rights to natural justice.

He recalled that in the briefing note, his client (Sanusi) was accused of recklessly spending about N20.2 billion on egal and professional fees, but that N19.8 billion of the sum was actually used to pay a judgment sum to some pensioners of CBN in a Supreme Court case filed by one Amao against the apex bank.

He denied that huge sums were paid as local flight fees to Emirates Airline and Wings Aviation Limited, adding that a proper clarification would have been made had Sanusi been given fair hearing.