Court upholds President Buhari’s Executive Order 6

A Federal High Court in Abuja has upheld the legality of the Executive Order No 6 recently signed by President Muhammadu Buhari for the seizure of assets linked with corruption.

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu held yesterday that the president has constitutional powers to make Executive Orders for Executive policies provided it does not detract from the principle of separation of powers.

She noted however that the Executive Order, which empowers the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to seize and preserve assets under investigation, must be executed through a court order and other relevant arms of government.

The judgment followed a suit by two lawyers: Ikenga Ugochinyere and Kenneth Udeze, who sought the order of the court declaring the Executive Order No 6 as unconstitutional.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/740/2018, they asked the court to among other things, determine whether by the combined effects of sections 5, 36 and 43 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, President Buhari had the powers to issue or implement such order.

They sought among others: “A declaration that the president cannot validly exercise his constitutional powers by deliberately undermining, limiting and/or inhibiting the entrenched constitutional rights of any citizen of Nigeria to fair hearing vide the issuance of the Order.”