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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday stopped the Federal Government from deducting $418million from the bank account of the 36 states governments
Justice Inyang Ekwo issued the order following an exparte application argued by counsel to the 36 states, Jibrin Otukepa and Ahmed Raji, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).
While moving the application, Otukepa, who led the legal team of the states, told the judge that the states would be completely crippled if the Federal Government should deduct the huge amount from the bank accounts of its clients.
The counsels told the judge that the Federal Government planned to deduct the $418 million from the state account monthly to service a debt for contracts allegedly executed for the states.
However, Otukepa said that the 36 states attorneys general have scrutinised the purported contract and judgment and found that the states were not parties to the court action that resulted to the judgment debt.
He further submitted that the purported contract claimed to have been executed for the states are not known to any of the 36 state governments and is therefore a phony contract.
They further told the court that the Federal Government was the only party to the court case that brought the judgment and therefore such judgment was not binding on the state government.
After listening to the arguments of the 36 states, Justice Ekwo ordered the Federal Government not to go ahead to make any deduction from the state account in respect of the purported court judgment until all issues relating to it were fully determined.
Defendants in the suit are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Finance Minister, Accountant General of the Federation and all banks in Nigeria, among others.
