Acting CBN Governor, Deputy, CCB sued for allegedly refusing to declare asset

A civil society group, Network Against Corruption and Trafficking Foundation (NACAT), sues acting CBN governor, Mr. Folashodun Shonubi, and deputy governor, Mr. Edward Adamu, in Abuja court over alleged failure to declare assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

In addition to the acting CBN governor and deputy governor, the chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit filed by NACAT’s legal counsel, John Ainetor of Festus Keyamo Chambers.

The applicant based the lawsuit on Sections 1(1) and (2) of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, 2011.

The suit was marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1182/2023 and dated August 25, 2023.
An affidavit in support of the originating motion ex parte, deposed to by Stanley Ugagbe, the operational manager of NACAT, says that the respondents refused to disclose the documents.

As public officers, the second and third respondents are legally required to declare in their Assets Declaration Forms their interests in the named companies, when they assumed their respective offices as acting Governor and Deputy Governor.

He said: “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.”

The applicant argued that it needed the court’s help to force the first and second respondents to comply with its request for information, as stipulated by Section 1(3) of the Freedom of Information Act.

The applicant based its request on the fact that it had written two letters, dated July 3, 2023, and August 14, 2023, asking the respondents to produce the documents, but they had refused.