A court has issued an order on security agencies, barring them
from arresting suspended Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, after he
was briefly detained and his passport seized at the airport, a document
viewed by Reuters showed.
Justice Buba Ibrahim issued the order on Friday, after Sanusi
complained that his detention had breached his right to freedom of
movement, since he had not yet been charged with committing the
financial malpractices for which he was suspended.
President Goodluck Jonathan suspended Sanusi on Thursday, removing
an outspoken critic of his government’s record on corruption, citing
“acts of financial recklessness”.
Since the suspension, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati has
accused the central bank of procurement irregularities during Sanusi’s
tenure, most of them dating back to 2011.
Sanusi, who was due to end his term in June, had been presenting
evidence to parliament that he said showed the Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to pay $20 billion it owed to
federal government coffers, fueling suspicion his arrest was meant to
silence him.
The presidency denies it was politically motivated.
NNPC has repeatedly denied Sanusi’s allegations, which brought the
bank governor into conflict with Jonathan’s administration a year before
the presidential elections.
The court ruling will remain in place until a case Sanusi brought
alleging violation of his human rights in his brief airport detention,
has been decided, the judge said.
That case will continue on February 28.
Sanusi’s suspension caused panic in the markets, with the naira
falling to record lows, as foreign investors sold off bonds, money and
stocks.
