The Network Against Corruption and Trafficking Foundation (NACAT) has initiated legal proceedings against Mr. Folashodun Shonubi, the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Mr. Edward Adamu, a Deputy Governor at the bank.
According to sources, NACAT has alleged that both Shonubi and Adamu failed to declare their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), a violation that prompted the organization to take legal action against them.
The lawsuit was officially filed in the Federal High Court in Abuja and has been designated as FHC/ABJ/CS/1182/2023. The lawsuit, dated August 25, 2023, has been presented by NACAT’s legal representative, John Ainetor, from Festus Keyamo Chambers. Notably, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau is also named as a defendant in the case.
The legal foundation for the lawsuit stems from Section 1(1) and (2) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act of 2011. In an accompanying affidavit, sworn by Stanley Ugagbe, the operational manager of NACAT, it is stated that the respondents, Shonubi and Adamu, have been unwilling to disclose specific documents.
Ugagbe, in the affidavit, pointed out that as public officials, the second and third respondents are obligated by law to declare any interests they hold in certain companies upon assuming their roles as acting Governor and Deputy Governor.
Ugagbe stated, “The applicant has a right under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, to access the Assets and Liabilities Declaration Forms of the second and third respondents in the records of the first respondent, concerning the declaration of the second and third respondents’ interests in the said companies.
“The applicant has made a demand under the Freedom of Information Act, 2011 to the respondents for them to produce the Assets and Liabilities Declaration Forms, where the second and third respondents declared their interests in the said companies, but the respondents failed, refused and neglected to produce the said documents.”
NACAT argues that court intervention is necessary to enforce its requests to the first and second respondents, citing Section 1 (3) of the Freedom of Information Act as the legal basis. The organization’s requests had been made via letters dated July 3, 2023, and August 14, 2023, but the respondents have thus far declined to comply with the requests.