An Abuja Federal High Court on Tuesday declined jurisdiction in a suit filed by suspended CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. The court subsequently transferred the case to the National Industrial Court for determination. Delivering judgment, Justice Gabriel Kolawole held that the plaintiff’s suit was a matter within the purview and exclusive jurisdiction of the President of the National Industrial Court to resolve.
He, therefore, ordered that the case be transferred to the court, in accordance with the National Industrial Court Act. Kolawole held that it would be inappropriate for him to go into the merit of the suit because Sanusi’s suit bordered on employer-employee dispute concerning CBN, a Federal Government agency.
“In conclusion, the plaintiff’s suit is, hereby, transferred to the National Industrial Court in accordance with Section 24(C) of the National Industrial Act for determination. It is, hereby ordered that the plaintiff’s case be directed to the National Industrial Court for its president to resolve or decide. It will be inappropriate for me to determine this case on its merit as it is clearly a labour matter which is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court president to resolve,’’ he said.
Justice Kolawole also struck out the name of the Inspector-General of Police from the suit as prayed by its counsel, Mr Solomon Umoh, SAN. Sanusi had, on Feb. 24, challenged his suspension from office by President Goodluck Jonathan and urged the court to reverse the decision.
The President, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Inspector-General of Police were joined as co-defendants in the suit. He had urged the court to restrain the defendants from “obstructing, disturbing, stopping or preventing him in any manner whatsoever, from performing the functions as Governor of the Central Bank’’.
Dr Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, the president’s counsel, had in his preliminary objection, challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.
Ajogwu argued that by virtue of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit. The plaintiff’s suit, he said, fell under the purview of the National Industrial Court which had exclusive jurisdiction to entertain matters relating to employer-employee issues like in the instant case.
Mr Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Mr Solomon Umoh (SAN), counsel to the Attorney-General and Inspector-General of Police respectively, had also aligned with Ajogwu’s arguments on jurisdiction.
They argued that the dispute between the plaintiff and the president pertained to issues bordering on the plaintiff’s employment, which was a matter for the National Industrial Court.
“I urge my lord to wash his hands off the case, like Pontius Pilate did, and dismiss the suit,’’ Ozekhome said. Sanusi’s counsel, Kola Awodein (SAN) had argued that the defendant’s counsel got it wrong by assuming that the case was about his client’s employment. He submitted that the plaintiff was not an employee of President Jonathan, adding that Sanusi’s suspension was not approved by the National Assembly in line with CBN Act 2007. Awodein said that the essence of his client’s suit was to invite the court to interpretative duty by declaring what the law says vis-a-vis Section 251 of the constitution.
