By Dele Ogbodo
The Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja on Tuesday adjourned till June 5 to deliver judgment on a suit brought by Advocacy for Societal Rights
Advancement and Development Initiative (ASRADI), requesting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose the cost of President Muhammadu Buhari’s oversea treatment in London.
The Executive Director, of ASRADI, Mr. Adeolu Oyinlola, had approached the Court for an order to compel the CBN and its Governor, Mr. Godwin Emiefele, to provide comprehensive information on the amount released for the president’s medical treatment in London.
Also to be made available to the public domain according to the advocacy group is the amount expended on behalf of government as parking fees for keeping the presidential aircraft and crew in the UK while the treatment lasted.
Also joined in the suit are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), its Governor, Godwin Emefiele and the Attorney General of the Federation, (AGF).
The applicant in the suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/1142/2017 wants the court to declare that the refusal of the respondents to provide the information requested in his letter dated 19th October, 2017, “amounted to a wrongful denial of information and is a flagrant violation of the provisions of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2011.”
When, the matter came up yesterday, ASRADI lawyer, Chukwuwinke Okafor, urged the court to dismiss the notice of preliminary objection filed by the 3rddefendant (AGF), claiming that the suit was properly brought before the court.
Responding to the submission of the 1st and 2nd respondents that his letter has been forwarded to the office of the Chief of Staff to President Buhari for necessary action, the applicant told the court that the letter forwarded to the presidency was one dated 29thAugust, 2017 and not the one before the court dated 19th October, 2017.
He further claimed that the processes filed by the 1st and 2ndrespondents were filed out of time and since they did not seek the leave of the court to regularize the processes, the processes are incompetent and should be disregarded.
Okafor therefore urged the court to strike out the processes of the 1stand 2nd respondents and grant the reliefs sought in the motion.
Responding, counsel to the 1st and 2nd respondents, Babafemi Durojaiye, who denied filing out of time, told the court that they were served on the 8th of February, 2018 and they filed in their response on February, 2018.
Durojaiye, further told the court that what the reacted to in their counter affidavit was the applicant letter dated 19th October 2017 and not that of 29 August, 2017 as claimed by the applicant.
According to him, there is no difference between the applicant’s letters of 29th August and 19thOctober. While stating that there may have been some mistake somewhere, the lawyer, insisted that what was sent to the Chief of Staff to the president was the letter of 19th October, 2017.
Durojaiye, told the court that the applicant in his claimed contravened section 136 of the Evidence Act, noting that though President Buhari was out of the country for 103 days, the applicant did not show any evidence that the president’s aircraft was parked at the Stansted Airport in the United Kingdom while President Buhari’s medical treatment lasted.
Justice Tsoho, after listening to submissions of counsel to parties in the matter, adjourning to June 5, 2018, for judgment.