Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sued the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for “failure to expose the persons involved in alleged money laundering through the CBN to fund the activities of Boko Haram, a terrorist group which have contributed to the unlawful killings of innocent Nigerians and destruction of property.”
The suit was filed on Tuesday by the Executive Director of the organisation, Adetokunbo Mumuni, at the Federal High Court Ikoyi in Lagos State.
He said the group decided to take the action after its Freedom of Information request to the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, dated September 15, 2014 did not yield any result.
In the suit, SERAP argued that “a necessary implication of the rule of law is that a public functionary and institution can only act in accordance with the law, as to do otherwise may enthrone arbitrariness”.
It stressed the need for those who publicly took oath of office to protect and preserve the constitution to adhere to the oath, noting that, “In a democratic society, this is meant to be a norm; it is an apostasy for public institutions like the CBN to ignore the provisions of the law.
“The CBN has so far failed, refused and/or neglected to provide the Plaintiff with the details of the information requested. By virtue of Section 1(1) of the FOI Act 2011, the Plaintiff is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information which is in the custody or possession of any public official, agency or institution. By the provisions of Section 2(7) and 31 of the FOI Act 2011, the Defendant is a public institution”.
“By virtue of Section 4 (a) of the FOI Act, when a person makes a request for information from a public official, institution or agency, the public official, institution or agency to whom the application is directed is under a binding legal obligation to provide the Plaintiff with the information requested for, except as otherwise provided by the Act, within seven days after the application is received”, the SERAP stressed.
It insisted that the information requested for does not fall into the category of information exempted from disclosure by the provisions of the FOI Act.
Continuing the group said, “the information requested for, apart from not being exempted from disclosure under the FOI Act, bothers on an issue of national interest, public peace and security, public concern, social justice, good governance, transparency and accountability. The Defendant will not suffer any injury or prejudice if the information is released to the Plaintiff”.
“Unless the reliefs it seeks were granted, the defendant will continue to be in breach of the Freedom of Information Act, and other statutory responsibilities”.
They pointed out that “it is in the interest of justice to grant its application, as the defendant have nothing to lose if the application is granted”.
The organisation also sought a declaration that by virtue of the provisions of Section 4 (a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the defendant was under a binding legal obligation to provide the Plaintiff with up to date information on persons involved in alleged money laundering through the Central Bank of Nigeria to fund the activities of Boko Haram and the exact nature and duration of any such transactions.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the application.
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