Centre for Social Justice
group urged a Federal High Court in Abuja to indict Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to send her to jail
for contempt of court.
CSJ, through its counsel, Kingsley Nnajika, urged the presiding judge, Justice Abdulkadir Abdu-Kafarati to jail the minister for disobeying the court’s judgment delivered on February 25, 2014, directing her to provide details of statutory disbursement to some federal agencies.
CSJ, through its counsel, Kingsley Nnajika, urged the presiding judge, Justice Abdulkadir Abdu-Kafarati to jail the minister for disobeying the court’s judgment delivered on February 25, 2014, directing her to provide details of statutory disbursement to some federal agencies.
Nnajika was arguing its
application for committal (Form 49) which he filed against Okonjo-Iweala
following the alleged disobedience of the order of court.
Justice Abdulkafarati fixed
ruling on the CSJ’s prayer for June 3.
Nnajika urged Justice
Abdu-Kafarati to commit Okonjo-Iweala as the orders of the court were
unambiguous in relation to the directive for the minister to supply it with its
requested information.
He faulted the claim by the
minister, who he said had in her affidavit of compliance that she had written
to the named agencies.
The lawyer said, “The order
did not say the respondent (the minister) should give us acknowledgment copies
of letters written to the agencies. The case lasted about one and half years.
“The respondent never said
she had no access to the information we requested. Having failed to comply with
the order, the court is left with no option than to make an order, based on our
Form 49 already filed, committing the respondent (Finance Minister) to prison
until she complies with the order of the court.”
But the minister’s lawyer,
Abdulhameed Ibrahim, urged the court to reject CSJ’s prayer.
He argued that the minister
did not disobey the court order because the information requested by the
applicant was not within the direct reach of the minister.
Ibrahim, in the affidavit
of compliance, urged the court to give mandatory orders, mandating three of the
recalcitrant agencies to comply with the request.
“Three
bodies, namely NNDC, NJC and the National Assembly have refused to accept and
acknowledge the request. Only a court order mandating the other three
cooperative bodies will compel them to furnish the applicant with the necessary
information,” the lawyer said.
CSJ had sued the minister
upon her refusal to honour its request, made under the Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act, for the release of details of statutory transfers in the 2013 budget
to six Federal Government’s agencies.
The agencies include the
National Judicial Council, Niger-Delta Development Commission, Universal Basic
Education Commission, National Assembly, Independent National Electoral
Commission and the National Human Rights Commission.
Justice Abdu-Kafarati had
in his judgement in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/301/2013 upheld CSJ’s claim and
ordered the minister to among others, supply the information requested by the
applicant.
The applicant insisted that
despite being served with the court’s judgment and enrolled orders of the
judgment, Okonjo-Iweala declined to obey the judgement, forcing the applicant
to issue Form 48 (notice of consequence of disobedience of court orders) and
Form 49 (motion for order of committal).
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