Update on Public Interest Suits (2020) -By Sesugh Akume

In the year coming to an end, we pursued a total of NINE (9) public interest suits, for the common good, at the State and Federal High Courts as well as the Court of Appeal. Six (6) of them pertain to the local government system, towards its financial and administrative autonomy, as local governments in Nigeria, which ought to be the most important being closest to the people, have been stifled and abused by state governments/governors into near extinction. The local governments themselves operate with zero openness, transparency, probity and accountability. The lawsuits hope to begin to address these anomalies.

Three (3) are Freedom of Information suits to compel the insular, unaccountable, opaque, unresponsive bureaucracy to be open, accountable, and responsive to citizens and to do so promptly.

A Synopsis of the Local Government Suits

1. Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue State & 4 Others (Speaker, Benue State House of Assembly; Benue State House of Assembly; Attorney-General of Benue State; Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (SUBEB) marked MHC/182/2019 seeking to nullify section 3 and 21 of the Benue State Local Government Law 2007, and sections 6 and 15 of the Benue State Electoral Law 2007. The former empower the governor to appoint (unelected) local government caretaker administrations or even sole administrators contrary to provisions of the Constitution, which contemplates ONLY democratically elected local government councils, and affirmed by the Supreme Court, over and again.

In his judgement granted on 21 July 2020, the Honourable Mr Justice W I Okpochi of the High Court of Benue State in his judgement said I lacked the locus standi (the right to sue) to bring forth the suit, and that he found no contradictions between the said sections and the Constitution, etc. The matter has been appealed.

2. The judgement challenged at the Court of Appeal, Makurdi in the matter of Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue State & 4 Others with Appeal Number: CA/MK/225/2020 has with following Grounds for Appeal:

i. The trial court erred in law when it held that the suit was rendered an ‘academic’academi exercise’ as local government elections had been held before the judgement was delivered.

[The matter was for interpretation of relevant sections of the Constitution and the Benue local government and electoral laws. Interpretation cannot be ‘academic’ or hypothetical, as the issues are about the constitutionality of the provisions not about elections that were not held per se.]

ii. The trial court erred in law when it held that I did not demonstrate sufficient personal interest in the matter worthy of protection and therefore lacked the locus standi to bring about the public interest suit.

[It is a PUBLIC interest suit, not a personal or private one. The current disposition of the Supreme Court towards locus standi in public interest matters is progressive, as it the law is that ANYBODY can bring forward public interest suits whether personally involved or not.]

iii. The trial court erred when it held that all sections of the Benue Local Government Law work harmoniously with the Constitution, and no section of it (including those highlighted) runs contrary to the Constitution.

[Sections 3 and 21 of the Local Government Law provide for the appointment of caretaker administrations or even sole administrators in gross violation of section 7(1) of the Constitution which guarantees the existence of democratically-elected local government councils, and 7(4) which guarantees the right of every eligible person to vote for officials in elective positions, not for the officials to be appointed on their behalf.] And other grounds as well.

I seek the Court of Appeal to allow the appeal, set aside the decision of the trial court, and to grant all reliefs sought in the originating suit. No date has been set for the matter to formally proceed.

3. Sesugh Akume v Governor of Benue State & Attorney-General of Benue State (MHC/293/2020) seeking to do away with the arbitrary powers of the governor to remove duly-elected local government chairmen, and to control local government funds, especially federal allocations. It is ongoing and has been adjourned to January 2021, hopefully, after which will be the judgement.

4. Sesugh Akume v Government of Benue State & 4 Others (Attorney-General of Benue State; Accountant-General of Benue State; Chairman, Logo Local Government Area; Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs) with suit number MHC/294/2020 to make the Freedom of Information Act 2011 applicable at the state and local government levels (and thus enforceable) thereby making information and public records at those levels democratised and accessible to all for probity, transparency, and accountability. 

The Honourable Mrs Justice J M Ijohor to whom the matter was assigned recused herself. It is expected to be reassigned to a new court this or next week for commencement.

[NOTE: It would be noticed that all 4 suits are at the High Court of Benue State, but they apply to all 36 states of the country as they all have the same obnoxious provisions in the state laws. Once we succeed in Benue, the same can be applied to all the other 35 states.]

At the Federal High Court:

5. Sesugh Akume v Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) & Attorney-General of the Federation (FHC/ABJ/CS/664/2020) seeking to stop federal funding for basic (primary and junior secondary) education at the local government level through the State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs) but directly to willing Local Government Education Authorities (LGEAs). Eliminating the middlemen (SUBEBs) will make more funds available for the purpose intended. The local government will among other things be able to retain teaching and non-teaching staff. It is also a solution to having the 13.5 million children out of school in school where they should be, address the wide, unacceptable student-teacher ratios, etc. It is also easier to tackle local government chairmen and local government education secretaries in event of misappropriation, maladministration, and other abuses than the almost impregnable SUBEBs, their executive chairmen, and state governors who appoint them.

The matter commenced in October at the Federal High Court Abuja but was struck out due to ONE (1) typographical error in the suit (this is no exaggeration). The error has since been corrected with an even better suit filed (FHC/ABJ/CS/1536/2020). It was assigned to another court (at the same Federal High Court) and commences afresh on 21 December.

6. Sesugh Akume v Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning & 6 Others (Federal Accounts Allocation Committee, Attorney-General of the Federation, Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) with suit number FHC/MKD/CS/54/2020 to stop the federal government from sending monthly allocations to unelected local government councils seeing as they are illegal, unlawful, unconstitutional, and unknown to law. Not funding these illegal councils would remove the incentive for having them across Nigeria in the first place.

The matter commenced at the Federal High Court, Makurdi where it was originally filed, but the judge declined, preferring it to be heard at the Federal High Court Abuja according to the rules of the court. It was thus transferred, assigned to a court, and in fact, commenced in November.

FOI Suits 

1. Sesugh Akume v Federal Ministry of Works and Housing & Minister, Federal Minister of Works and Housing (FHC/ABJ/CS/1383/2019) seeking redress after three (3) FOI applications on the status of the nonexistent Buruku and Quatan Sule bridges (alternately budgeted for construction and maintenance year after year, for age. For instance, the Buruku bridge was both budgeted for construction and maintenance in 2017), the Katsina-Ala bridge (budgeted to be repaired at the cost of N250 million naira in 2017, which cost rose to N3.77 billion in 2019 for the very same work), the Makurdi bridge, the Makurdi – Gboko, Gboko – Katsina-Ala, and Ogoja – Katsina-Ala roads. (All in or leading to my constituency in Benue.)

The matter is ongoing at the Federal High Court Abuja and hopefully closes at the next adjourned date 11 December, after which will be the judgement.

2. Sesugh Akume v Supreme Court of Nigeria & Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria (FHC/ABJ/CS/1161/2020) after the FOI application to know the status of Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly v Martins Alo, filed at the Supreme Court since 2018 (the first suit at the Supreme Court seeking to forever settle the matter of FOI being applicable at the state level) was denied. It is ongoing at the Federal High Court Abuja.

3. Sesugh Akume v Chief Registrar, Supreme Court of Nigeria (FHC/ABJ/CS/1491/2020) after the FOI application on the status of Austin Osakue v Edo State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (EDOSACA) also filed at the Supreme Court since 2018 (the second suit at the Supreme Court seeking to settle the matter of FOI being applicable at the state level) was denied. It commences at the Federal High Court Abuja on 9 December.

NINE (9) public interest matters with eight (8) ongoing at different stages. There is also the TENTH, the matter of Dr Samuel Ortom v Omoyele Sowore & Sesugh Akume (MHC/326/2020), in my view, a frivolous, vexatious suit brought in bad faith, which is an abuse of court process, and a complete waste of the court’s time, wherein the Benue governor, Samuel Ortom, falsely alleges that posting about suit number 3 (from the top) on the list above, and same reported in the media was libelous and impugned on his unimpeachable character. We have since responded in defence but no date has been set for the matter to commence.

Conclusion

There are three (3) matters to attend to all at the Federal High Court Abuja this December (9, 11, and 21). The rest resume from January 2021. If things run as anticipated, it is hoped that most (if not all) of the cases would be concluded (at the courts they are) by mid-2021. Thank you for the support as it is a collective effort.

Sesugh Akume

Abuja NIGERIA

7 December 2020