Sixteen socio-cultural leaders from southern Nigeria have
instituted a suit against President Muhammadu Buhari for allegedly
marginalising the people of the southern region from appointments in his
administration.
In the suit filed before a federal high court in Abuja, the
plaintiffs led by Edwin Clark are asking the court to award the sum of N50
billion against the president and other defendants as “punitive, aggravated and
exemplary damages” to the constituents of the plaintiffs for the “illegal,
wrongful discriminatory and unconstitutional acts”.
The plaintiffs are praying the court to determine whether
the president has acted in compliance with 81(2), 814(3)(4), of the 1999
constitution (as amended) in appointing top officials since the inception of
his administration in 2015.
They also want the court to determine whether it was not
“reckless and adverse to the interest of Nigeria”, for Buhari to obtain a loan
facility from the Islamic Development Bank, African Development Bank, the World
Bank, China, Japan, and Germany amounting to $22.7 billion (USD), for
infrastructural development, only to allocate a bulk of the fund to the
northern region.
According to the plaintiffs, the “less than 1%” of the funds
allocated to the south east zone “blatantly offends the equitable distribution
principle of contained in section 16 (1) (a) (b) and S16 (2) (a) (b) (c) of the
1999 constitution (as amended)”.
Other plaintiffs in the suit are Reuben Fasoranti, Afenifere
leader; John Nwodo, president general of Ohaneze Ndigbo; Pogu Bitrus; Ayo
Adebanjo; Alaowei Bozimo; Sarah Doketri, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, Idongsit Nkanga,
Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, Julie Umukoro, and Stephen Bangoji.
Others are Tijani Babatunde, Rose Obuoforibo, Adakole Ijogi
and Charles Nwakeaku.
Buhari; Abubakar Malami, attorney general of the federation;
Mohammed Sani-Omolori, clerk of the national assembly, and the Federal
Character Commission are the defendants in the suit.
Solomon Asemota, Tijani Ayanlaja, Chuks Muoma, Albert
Akpomudje, Tayo Oyetibo, Pius Akubo, Nella Andem-Rabana, Mike Ozekhome,
Akinpelu Onigbinde, and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, all senior advocates of Nigeri,
filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs.
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