A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed a suit by the Attorneys-General of the 36 States and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum seeking to restrain the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU, from implementing its guidelines on local government spending.
The defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the NFIU and the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE.
By the suit, the Plaintiffs had asked the court to determine whether having regard to the combined effect of Sections 7 (1) (6) (a) and (b), 162 (6) and 162 (7) and (8) and the 4th Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which, among others guaranteed the existence and structure of Local Government Councils under Local Government Laws of each State.
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Delivering judgment, Justice Inyang Ekwo held the suit was liable for dismissal for lack of merit.
The court reasoned that upon studying the provisions of the NFIU’s guidelines, it was unable to see where the provisions thereof contradict or conflict the provision of Sections 7(1), (6) (a) and (b) of the constitution.
Justice Ekwo held that the guidelines did not contradict Section 162(8) of the constitution which prescribed that the amount standing to the credit of the local government council of the state shall be distributed among the local government councils of that state on such terms and in such manner as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly of the state.
Earlier the judge also struck out the name of the 37th plaintiff (Incorporated Trustees of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum) from the suit for lack of locus standi to institute the suit.
