A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja presided over by Justice Inyang Ekwo, yesterday, delivered a judgment in favour of the Federal Government and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) on local governments joint accounts nationwide.
On May 6, 2019, NFIU had issued guidelines to stimulate the reduction of crime vulnerabilities created by cash withdrawals from local government funds across the country, beginning from June 1, 2019
On May 6, 2019, NFIU had issued guidelines to stimulate the reduction of crime vulnerabilities created by cash withdrawals from local government funds across the country,
The guidelines, the agency said, include full enforcement of corresponding sanctions against violations. The guidelines limited the cumulative amount that could be withdrawn from a local government account to not more than N500,000 daily.
It also directed that any other transaction must be done through valid cheques or electronic funds transfer, among others. It said cash withdrawal and transactions from State Joint Local Government Accounts (SJLGA) “posed biggest corruption, money laundering and security threats at the grassroots and to entire financial system and the country.”
But state governments had dragged the AGF, NFIU and NULGE to court arguing that such directive was in breach of financial autonomy as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.
But Justice Ekwo dismissed the suit for lacking in merit. He held that upon studying the provisions of the NFIU’s guidelines, he was unable to see where the provisions thereof contradict or conflict the provision of Sections 7(1), (6) (a) and (b) of the constitution.
“I am also unable to see how the provisions of the 2nd defendant (NFIU)’s guidelines contradict or conflict with the provisions of Section 162(6) of the constitution which creates the ‘State Joint Local Government Account’ into which allocations to the local government councils of the state from the Federation Account and from the government of the state shall be paid,” he said. – The Sun.
