Sanusi Sues Financial Reporting Council, Accuses It of Exceeding its Powers

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

The suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,  Lamido Sanusi, on Thursday sued the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, accusing it of exceeding the limits of its statutory functions.
The embattled governor had earlier in the day shunned the Council’s invitation to appear before it to answer questions on the activities of the bank during his tenure between 2011 and 2012.
According to legal papers filed before a Federal High Court in Lagos by his counsel, Kola Awodein, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Sanusi said that by virtue of the provisions of Sections 7, 8, and 62 of the FRCN Act 2011, the Council lacked the statutory powers to investigate him and the CBN.
Mr. Sanusi accused the Council of acting ultra vires, by violating his  right to fair hearing and natural justice, as guaranteed in the constitution under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
Under the Act, the FRCN is charged with the responsibility of, among other things, developing and publishing accounting and financial reporting standards to be observed in the preparation of financial statements of public entities in Nigeria.
Mr. Sanusi asked the court to summon Jim Obazee in his capacity as the Executive Secretary of the FRCN to appear before it within seven days to explain why he should not be accused of acting in bad faith in the Council’s probe of the CBN.
For denying him the opportunity to make representations to the Council before the formulation of the Briefing Note of June 7, 2013 submitted to the President, which formed the basis for his suspension from office, the governor said it was clear that the FRCN acted in bad faith.
Noting that the controversial Briefing Note, which recommended his immediate sack from office and criminal prosecution, Mr. Sanusi said the Council’s conduct defied valid legal contemplation of an independent, fair, objective and unbiased investigation of the CBN.
Consequently, the governor asked the court to declare that the Council exceeded the bounds of its statutory powers and functions spelt out in the FRCN Act 2011.
He therefore asked for a declaration that the conduct of the Council was biased, as it contravened the rules of natural justice, and in violation of the constitutional right to fair hearing, in the preparation of the Briefing Note submitted to the President without first granting him an opportunity to be heard.
Mr. Sanusi also asked the court to declare that the Council’s failure, refusal and neglect to accord him the right to fair hearing before preparing the Briefing Note that recommended his removal from office was not only capricious, arbitrary and without basis, but also a gross violation of the rules of natural justice and constitutional right to fair hearing.
While also asking the court to declare that the FRCN had no power to conduct the purported investigation into his activities and those of the CBN, Mr. Sanusi asked for an order to retrain the Council from continuing any investigation, inquiry, hearing or proceeding against him and the CBN.
In a supporting affidavit to the application, Mr. Sanusi drew attention of the court to several allegations of financial recklessness, fraud, incompetence, misconduct, wastefulness, abuse of due process, and misrepresentation of facts made against him by the FRCN.
He said that although he responded to the allegations in the Briefing Note through his letter of March 18, 2014, he was surprised that he was still being invited by the FRCN to appear before it for further investigations.
Despite not being called to clarify several allegations in the Briefing Note before forwarding same to the President, Mr. Sanusi said the Council made several scathing and offensive statements about his administration of the CBN.
Specifically, he noted the Council’s allegation that the CBN made a deposit of about N4.947 billion for shares in the Bank of Industry, BOI, since September 2007 without being concerned that the shares were not issued as at December 2012.
Besides, he also deplored allegations that the CBN paid the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting, NSPM Plc N38.233billion in 2011 for ‘printing of Bank Notes’ whereas the entire turnover of NSPMC Group was N29.370 Billion.