On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a lawsuit that aimed to prevent the Federal Government from securitising the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loan support obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In his judgment, Justice James Kolawole Omotosho stated that the plaintiffs did not have the legal standing to bring the case and failed to prove the same even if they did.
The plaintiffs, Justin Edim and Akinfenwa Akinwunmi, had named President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Ministry of Finance as the first to fourth defendants in their lawsuit.
They also included the Debt Management Office (DMO), the National Assembly, and the Attorney General of the Federation as the fifth to seventh defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1286/2023.
The plaintiffs, represented by their counsel Victor Opatola, filed the legal action on behalf of themselves and other Nigerian citizens. They specifically requested the court to halt the conversion of the debt into a promissory note or any other form of security such as treasury bills or bonds.
In December 2022, the Federal Government sought permission from the 9th National Assembly to securitise the debts accumulated from the Central Bank over the years.
The plaintiffs argued that the accumulated loans from the Central Bank amounted to N23.7 trillion and alleged that the government planned to restructure the loans for trading purposes.
They claimed that over the years, the government had borrowed various sums from the Central Bank under the Ways and Means provision of Section 38 of the CBN Act, exceeding the stipulated borrowing limit of five per cent of the previous year’s government revenue.
The plaintiffs requested the court to declare that securitising the Ways and Means debt would harm them and millions of Nigerians, deplete their savings, and exacerbate poverty levels.
They contended that such actions would inject excessive money into the economy, leading to increased inflation in Nigeria.
Justice Omotosho removed the National Assembly from the suit due to the plaintiffs’ failure to follow the proper procedure of serving a pre-action notice to the legislature before filing the suit.
He questioned the legal right of the plaintiffs to bring the suit on behalf of the public, stating that the case did not fall under fundamental rights enforcement.
Furthermore, the judge emphasized the importance of having certified true copies of exhibits, noting that relying on uncertified printouts from online sources was not acceptable in court.
Ultimately, Justice Omotosho dismissed the suit for lack of legal standing and due to the insufficiency of evidence presented by the plaintiffs.