‘The court lacks the power to review its own earlier judgment ordering the payment of the creditors.*’
_“I find no merit in this suit and it is, accordingly, dismissed.. Judge Inyang Ekwo_
‘The court held that the states Attorneys-General lack the legal right to institute the lawsuit to challenge the deduction of funds from the federation account to settle the Paris Club refund-associated judgement debts without their governors’ consent’
Prince Ned Nwoko
By Our Reporter
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, dismissed a suit instituted by the 36 states’ Attorneys-General challenging plans by the federal government to deduct funds from the federation account to settle $418 million judgment debt in relation to Paris Club refund.
The 36 states’ Attorneys-General had sued the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), the Accountant General of the Federation and Ministry of Finance, and others, over the planned deduction.
Other defendants sued by the plaintiffs 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.
There are a total of 43 defendants, including the judgement creditors, sued in the suit that was filed by the 36 state Attorneys-General on October 27, 2021.
Mr Ekwo had last November restrained the federal government from making any deduction from the federation account to settle the controversial judgment debts until his court’s resolution of the issues.
Judgement
But delivering judgement on the suit, on Friday, the judge, Inyang Ekwo, held that the states Attorneys-General lack the legal standing to institute the lawsuit without their governors’ consent.
“The states Attorneys-General cannot on their own bring this suit given the provisions of Section 211 of the 199 Constitution
“This is beyond the powers of the states Attorneys-General to initiate this suit on their own.
“No cause of action can flow when a plaintiff lacks the legal standing to institute a suit.
“This suit does not fall within the class of suits that can be initiated by the State Attorneys-General without the consent of the governors,” the judge held.
Mr Ekwo further held that the court lacks the power to review its own earlier judgment ordering the payment of the creditors.
“I find no merit in this suit and it is, accordingly, dismissed,” Mr Ekwo said.
The debts had accrued from court judgments awarding the creditors, who claimed to be “consultants” and “contractors” to the states and local governments, various sums of money which currently stand at $418 million.
Some of the creditors claimed to have earned their shares of the money through ‘consultancy services’ of helping state and local governments to recover funds over-deducted by the federal government from their allocations between 1995 and 2002 to service the London Club and Paris Club loans
