It is not yet uhuru for suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Department of State Services (DSS), which seized his international passport on suspicions of financing terrorism in the country, has vowed to appeal against Thursday’s ruling of the Federal High Court Lagos, directing it to release Sanusi’s travel documents.
A statement by Marilyn Ogar, the Deputy Director, Public Relations, DSS, on Friday in Abuja, expressed “disappointment and dissatisfaction with the judgment”.
Justice Ibrahim Buba, who gave the ruling in Lagos, also awarded the sum of N50 million as exemplary damages in favour of the embattled Sanusi.
“It is therefore necessary to state that in impounding the passport of Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Service acted in accordance with the law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, section 3 (2) (b) of Instrument SSS No. 1 of 1999 made pursuant to section 6 of the National Security Agencies (NSA) Act, provides as follows:
“The State Security Service is hereby empowered to impound and keep in its custody the passports or any other property of persons or organisations under investigation if considered appropriate by the Director General.
“Returns of all such seizures shall be rendered to the National Security Adviser, while such passports shall be returned to the owners as soon as the investigation is concluded”.
The SSS spokesperson, however, said that the “service holds and continues to hold the judiciary in high esteem as a critical partner in nurturing our democracy and nation building”.
