Court throws out governors’ $418m debt deduction suit against FG

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital territory, has dismissed the suit filed by governors of the 36 states of the federation seeking to stop deductions of $418 million Paris Club refund debt by the Federal Government. 

Justice Inyang Ekwo on Friday held that the suit was lacking in merit.

The judge also held that the action, brought by the attorneys general of the 36 states, was an abuse of court process and filed without locus standi.

READ: JUST IN: Court stops FG from deducting $418m from States’ accounts

The governors, through their counsel, Sunday Ibrahim Ameh (SAN), had asked the court to stop the deduction of $418 million from their accounts.

The court had earlier refused to grant a request for an injunctive order restraining the federal government from proceeding with the deductions. The governors are contending that they were not parties to a suit in which judgment approved the deduction of the $418 million for payment of contractors and consultants in the Paris Club refunds.