REVEALED: Why Judge dismissed $12.4billion Gulf Oil Windfall Suit

Justice Gabriel Kolawale of the Federal High Court in Abuja, Thursday, dismissed the $12.4 billion gulf oil windfall suit filed by some civil society organisations against the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

While delivering ruling on objections raised against the application, Mr. Kolawole, in a judgement read for over one hour, held that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the matter. He also ruled that the applicants did not have the requisite “locus standi” to institute the action.

Though the application for the information was filed by six groups, the judge de-listed three of them for “wrong representation.”

The application was filed by the Registered Trustees of Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project , Access to Justice, and Human and Environmental Development Agenda filed the application.

Others were the Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, and Partnership for Justice. The latter three were de-listed as joint applicants.

The Judge held that the applicants could not establish the allegation of a “dedicated account’’ within the CBN where the money was domiciled.
Mr. Kolawole further said the action was “status barred’’ as the applicants failed to approach the court within 12 months allowed by law in 2005 after the release of the late Pius Okigbo Report on the misappropriation of the windfall.

He said the applicants failed to produce a certified copy of the Okigbo Report, adding that “the issues raised remained doubtful in the circumstance’’. The respondents had stated that the official copy of the Okigbo report was missing.

The Judge said the claims are “non-justiceable.”
“More worrisome is the fact the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009 relied on by the applicant is in conflict with Section 46 (1) (3) of the 1999 Constitution.

“The Chief Justice of Nigeria has assumed legislative powers in the amendment of the rules to enlarge the justiceable rights of the applicants not originally captured in the Constitution.

“This is, however, not done to discredit the justiceable rights as enshrined in the African Charter on Fundamental Human Rights, which the applicants may have relied on heavily,” the judge said.

Mr. Kolawole therefore ruled that “All the equitable relives sought in the application are hereby dismissed.”
“Unless the applicants are able to establish the existence of a dedicated account which the money was kept, I am afraid the other auxiliary relives shall not be granted,” he said.