Suspension: Sanusi Loses Round One In Court

Suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido

Sanusi's bid to return to office suffered a setback,Wednesday as the

Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, dismissed an ex-parte motion

that sought for his immediate reinstatement.
In a ruling, Wednesday, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, said it would not be in

the interest of justice for him to grant such application without hearing

from those that were dragged before the high court by the embattled CBN

governor.
Consequently, Sanusi, was ordered to go and serve the relevant court

processes on President Goodluck Jonathan, the Attorney General of the

Federation and the Inspector General of Police, who were all listed as

defendants in the matter, even as the substantive suit was adjourned to

March 12 for hearing.
Nevertheless, Justice Kolawole, maintained that should the court, at the

conclusion of the matter, discover that the CBN governor was wrongfully

suspended without recourse to the due process of the law, he said the

court has the constitutional powers to not only void the suspension, but

also order that he should return to office to perform his duties as the

head of the apex bank.
According to the Judge, even where the tenure had lapsed, the court could

order the defendants to pay the plaintiff such remunerations and

allowances that ought to have accrued to him within the period of his

suspension, “this is in any event that the suspension carries with it the

stoppage of the plaintiff's remuneration and allowances.”