The Department of State Security Service, SSS, has accused the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Lamido Sanusi of financing terrorism. * President Goodluck Jonathan, left, and former CBN Governor, Sanusi The SSS stated this on Monday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, while defending its decision to seize Mr. Sanusis international passport. Mr. Sanusis passport was seized on February 20, as he arrived the Lagos international airport, hours after he was suspended as Central Bank Governor by President Goodluck Jonathan. The new charge, which Mr. Sanusis lawyers described as false and baseless, tallies with a similar surreptitious but baseless allegation thrown at the bank chief by a presidential aide. Reno Omokri, the Special Assistant to the President on New Media, had, on February 26, used a pseudonym, Wendell Simlin, to circulate an article that tried to link the recent spike in Boko Haram attack to the suspension of the CBN governor. During the hearing of the rights suit, which continued on Monday, the respondents - the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF; the Police; and the SSS - made different claims. The fresh terrorism-related allegation against Mr. Sanusi came from the SSS. The agency said it was investigating Mr. Sanusi for allegedly financing terrorism. According to SSS counsel, Moses Idakwo, the provisions of Section 6 of the National Security Agencies Act empowered the Service to impound the international passport of suspects pending the conclusion of investigations. On Monday, however, Mr. Sanusis counsel, Kola Awodehin, accused the SSS of falsehood in its new claim against the bank chief, saying the agency had no shred of evidence. Nigerian journalists had exposed how Mr. Omokri, using a non-existent alias, Wendell Simlin, created a document linking Mr. Sanusi with financing the terrorist Boko Haram group. The counsel to the AGF, Fabian Ajogwu, had objected to the suit, urging the court to strike it out for want of jurisdiction. Mr. Ajogwu argued that the provisions of Section 254 (c) 1 (d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) ousted the courts jurisdiction to entertain the suit. He noted that the case before the court borders on the applicants employment, saying that labour -related cases are within the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court, NIC. The counsel urged the court to strike out the suit. The court, however, adjourned ruling on the preliminary objection to April 4
Posted on: Mon, 31 Mar 2014 18:28:33 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015