Court adjourns hearing in case against IBB, three others
A federal high court in Lagos Thusday adjourned hearing in a suit involving Gen. Ibrahim Babangida and three others.
The suit is over the alleged failure of the defendants to account for export earnings from the sale of crude oil during the Gulf war.
Justice Dan Abutu adjourned hearing in the case till March 5.
The case, filed by Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) in 1992, listed former CBN governor, the late Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed, the Auditor-General of the Federation and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as co-defendants.
Fawehinmi is asking the court to compel the defendants to account for all export earnings realised by the country from the sale of crude oil during the Gulf war crisis, particularly between August and Dec. 31, 1990.
Earlier, counsel to the defendants, Mr Charles Ataboh, told the court that they had filed an application, asking it to set aside its order directing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Ufot Ekaette, to appear before it.
``We pray the court to dismiss the idea of asking Ekaette to give evidence and produce the report of the Pius Okigbo Panel on the re-organisation and reform of the CBN of 1994,'' he said.
He said in a 15-paragraph affidavit supporting the application: ``In my position as the Director of the Committee and Commissions in the Office of SGF, I am aware that the panel report was submitted to the late Gen. Sani Abacha in 1994.
``All efforts have been made since the assumption of the present administration to locate the report at the Presidency, but to no avail,'' it stated.
Counsel to Fawehinmi, Mr Ugwuzor Adindu, told the court that he was not satisfied with the content of the application and would file a counter affidavit.
``A report of such magnitude is supposed to be deposited at the National Archives by virtue of section 24 of the National Archives Cap N6 Laws of Nigeria 2004 and 25 copies at the National Library, '' he said.