Subsidy removal: Nwabueze, Utomi, others 48 sue FG

Fifty eminent Nigerians led by Prof. Ben Nwabueze, have approached a Federal High Court in Abuja, asking it to declare the increase in fuel pump price from N65 to N97 announced by the Federal Government on January 15, as unlawful, null and void. The plaintiffs named President Goodluck Jonathan, Senate President, Speaker of House of Reps, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and the 36 state governors as co-defendants in the suit. 

 Other plaintiffs in the suit are Mr Balarabe Musa, Dr Tunji Braithwaite, Kalu Idika Kalu, Prof. Pat Utomi; late Gani Fawehinmi’s wife, Ganiyat; Shehu Sanni, Dr Fredrick Fasheun, among others. In their originating summons, the litigants contended that going by provisions of Section 7 of the PPPRA and Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution, the defendants were not empowered to validly increase the pump price of petrol as was done on January 15, 2012 from N65 per litre to N97 per litre. 

 They stressed that by virtue of Section 81 of the 1999 constitution, the defendants cannot sit as a body or in consultation with one another and validly take any decision affecting the appropriation of revenue accruing to the Federation and, in particular, the removal of subsidy on petrol without a valid appropriation Act. 

 The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, has already assigned the case file to Justice Adamu Bello. Specifically, the plaintiffs, through their lawyer, Festus Keyamo, are asking the court to declare that the purported increase of petrol pump price from N65 to N97 by the defendants while sitting as a body or in consultation with one another is in violation of Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 7 of the PPPRA Act and, therefore, null and void and of no effect. 

 “To nullify the decision of the defendants increasing the price of petrol from N65 to N97 on the grounds that the defendants’ action contravened Section 81 of the 1999 Constitution and section 7 of the PPPRA Act. Besides, they asked the court to direct President Jonathan to immediately reverse the price of petrol from N97 to N65 per litre. The case has been fixed for mention on May 22.

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Fuel subsidy protest murder: Lagos to sue Police, killer DPO for N500m

The Lagos State Government is to sue the state Police Command and the former Divisional Police Officer, DPO, of Pen Cinema Police Station, Mr Segun Fabunmi, over the killing of a protester and injuring of three others during January fuel subsidy protest in Lagos.

The deceased, 27-year old Demola Abiodun, was allegedly shot dead by the dismissed DPO Fabunmi during the last subsidy protest in Yaya Abatan, Ogba area of Lagos State.

Governor Babatunde Fashola had ordered the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, to take over the case and ensure that justice was done, as he vowed that the matter would not be swept under the carpet.

The Office of the Public Defender, OPD, an agency under the state Ministry of Justice is handling the case.

Director, OPD, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, who addressed newsmen, yesterday, said the state government was suing the police and the former DPO for N200 million for the killing of Abiodun and N100 million each for three others, who were wounded by police bullets during the protest.

According to her, the OPD would soon sue the police command and the killer DPO over the matter, adding that what was delaying the action was the unavailability of the autopsy report.

She said the autopsy report was ready and that the office was waiting for the Vice Chancellor, Lagos State University, LASU, Prof. John Obafunwa, a pathologist, to make the autopsy available to her office.

She said: “Once the autopsy is ready, we will head to court. We are ready. The DPO, who killed Abiodun is still in prison.

It would be recalled that in January, during the nationwide fuel subsidy protest in Lagos, the accused dismissed DPO, was alleged to have shot dead Abiodun while they were playing football on College Road, Ogba and wounded three others.

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