The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday struck out a N1 billion suit brought against former President Muhammadu Buhari and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over the hardship caused by the 2023 naira redesign policy.
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Justice Inyang Ekwo struck out the case due to a lack of diligent prosecution.
The suit was filed by an Abuja-based legal practitioner, Uthman Tochukwu, who accused the defendants of imposing severe hardships on Nigerians through the policy.
Marked as case number FHC/ABJ/CS/418/2023, the plaintiff sued Buhari, the Attorney General of the Federation, the former CBN Governor Emefiele, the CBN, and two commercial banks.
Tochukwu claimed that the naira redesign caused him significant hardship, alleging that his fundamental rights to freedom of movement and personal dignity were violated.
In the suit, filed through his counsel, Bala Dakum, Tochukwu asserted that his ability to move freely was curtailed, and he was unable to access his funds held in two commercial banks during the period of hardship resulting from the naira redesign in January and March 2023.
The plaintiff sought N1billion in damages from the defendants for the alleged breach of his fundamental rights.
He also requested a court order to prevent the defendants from further withholding the old N200, N500, and N1,000 denominations.
Additionally, he demanded a public apology from the defendants, to be published in two major national newspapers.
At Monday’s proceedings, Justice Ekwo noted that the plaintiff appeared to have deliberately abandoned his case, citing his repeated absence from court without legal representation or explanation.
Meanwhile, neither the plaintiff nor his counsel attended the hearing or provided any excuse for their absence.
Counsel for the third and fourth defendants (Emefiele and the CBN), Mr Chikelue Amasiani, drew the court’s attention to the plaintiff’s persistent absence throughout previous proceedings.
Amasiani argued that since filing the suit in 2023, the plaintiff and his lawyer had shown no commitment or seriousness in prosecuting the case.
He urged the court to strike out the matter, allowing the plaintiff the option to revive it in the future if prepared to proceed diligently.
In a brief ruling, Justice Ekwo concurred with the defence counsel and struck out the suit.
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