On Monday, the Abuja Divisio of the Federal High Court fixed December 21 to hear all pending applications in a suit filed by 36 governors over a plan to deduct monies accruing to them from the federation account to settle $418 million judgment debt concerning Paris Club refund.

Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed the date after taking arguments for and against the plaintiffs’ application for an interlocutory injunction from counsel to the parties in the suit.

Mr Ekwo, who refused to grant the prayers on the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction by the plaintiffs because the defendants had challenged the court’s jurisdiction, ordered that the preliminary objections and the substantive matter would be taken in the next adjourned date.

“In the absence of jurisdiction, the court will be acting in futility no matter how well a proceeding is conducted. The product of such a proceeding, in other words, is a nullity. It is my opinion that the jurisdiction of this court, having been challenged by the preliminary objections upon the grounds which I have stated in this ruling, it will be improper and indeed, inappropriate to consider the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction or grant the prayers of the plaintiffs/applicants,” stated the judge. “It is also my opinion that the moment the jurisdiction of this court was disputed by the defendants, the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction became overtaken by event and lost its priority in the proceedings…I, therefore, make an order refusing the prayers.”

The judge adjourned the case until December 21 to hear the preliminary objections of the defendants and the substantive matter.

Thirty-six state attorneys general (plaintiffs) had sued the defendants listed in the suit, including the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Accountant General of the Federation and the finance ministry.

Others are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Debt Management Office (DMO), Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), Incorporated Trustees of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), among others.

According to the motion dated and filed October 27, 43 defendants are sued.

The court had, on November 5, restrained the federal government from deducting the monies from the federation account to settle the judgment debt regarding the refund.

The ruling followed an ex parte motion moved by counsel to the 36 state governments (plaintiffs), Jibrin Okutekpa, SAN, seeking an order of interim injunction, restraining the federal government from deducting any money accruing or due to all or any of the 36 states of the federation.

The court had also ruled that the restraining order would subsist pending the determination of the substantive suit.

On December 7, when the matter came up, Mr Ekwo had refused to vacate the earlier order restraining the federal government from tampering with the states’ funds.

Instead, the judge adjourned the matter until today to take the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction. At the resumed hearing, Maimuna Lami-Shiru, counsel to the first, second, fourth and sixth defendants (the president, AGF, Ministry of Finance and DMO, respectively), urged the court to dismiss the state governments’ application for lacking in merit.

She argued that the application lacked merit to be brought forward in that the plaintiffs had no sufficient legal backing to pursue this.

Ms Lami-Shiru further argued that the plaintiffs concealed facts about some previous court judgments.

(NAN)