Court orders FG, police to pay Sanusi N50m

A Federal High Court, Lagos has ordered the
Federal Government, the State Security Service
and the police to immediately release the
passport unlawfully seized from the suspended
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The court, in a judgment delivered on
Thursday, ordered the respondents, including
the police, to pay N50m to Sanusi as
exemplary damages for the unlawful detention
and seizure of his passport.
Justice Ibrahim Buba delivered the judgment in
the fundamental enforcement suit instituted by
Sanusi following his arrest, detention, and
seizure of his passports on February 20.
The judge, who earlier in his judgment,
dismissed the respondents’ preliminary
objection to the suit, held that the
respondents, acting through the SSS “do not
have power to forcefully withdraw and seize
the applicant’s passport for any reason.”
He ordered the respondents to issue a public
apology to the applicant for his “unlawful
arrest, harassment, intimidation, withdrawal
and seizure of his passport”.
Officers of the SSS had on February 20
arrested Sanusi and seized his passport at the
Murtala Mohammed International Airport.
The police, through its counsel, Mr. David
Abuo, had said they had no case against Sanusi
and was not aware of any allegations against
him.
Sanusi, who was on his way back from Niger
Republic where he had attended a meeting of
central bank governors of ECOWAS states, was
suspended as CBN governor shortly before his
passport was seized.
The court held that his detention “without any
allegation of commission of crime or charge”
amounted to restriction of his personal liberty
and unlawful violation of his rights to personal
liberty.
The court dismissed the allegation of terrorism
financing levelled against Sanusi, describing it
as an afterthought.
It agreed with Sanusi’s counsel, Mr. Kola
Awodein (SAN), that the respondents gave
conflicting reasons for the arrest of the
applicant and for the seizure of his passport.
“The first (the Attorney-General of the
Federation) and the third (the SSS) are not on
the same page,” the court held.
It added, “The court observes that surely, there
is no doubt that either there is no synergy
between the respondents or the respondents
are only singing discordant tunes as
afterthought,” the judge held.
The court held that the respondents failed to
put any material before the court to back the
allegation.
It also held that the respondents had “nothing
to offer” against Sanusi’s denial of financing
terrorism.