Anti-corruption advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has sued President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to order the p
Anti-corruption advocacy group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has sued President Muhammadu Buhari for failing to order the probe of the bribery allegation against the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje after video clips had weeks ago surfaced on the Internet showing the governor allegedly collecting kickbacks from some contractors.
SERAP had, in early November, written an open letter, urging Buhari to direct either the Attorney General of the Federation or anti-graft agencies to probe the bribery allegations against Ganduje. The anti-corruption group argued that though the alleged bribery directly concerned Kano State, the Federal Government could not afford to look away. It gave the President seven days to order Ganduje’s probe, threatening to take legal action against the President if he failed to do so.
Failing to do so, the group’s Senior Legal Adviser, Ms Bamisope Adeyanju, said it had finally sued the President before the Federal High Court in Lagos. The group said the President had failed to order Ganduje’s probe, saying it became particularly concerned following last week’s ruling of a Kano State High Court, which stopped the Kano State House of Assembly from probing Ganduje. The group said it is, through its suit, marked FHC/L/CS/2055/18, seeking “an order for leave to apply for judicial review and an order of mandamus directing and/or compelling Mr Buhari to immediately direct the investigation of allegations of bribery against Mr Ganduje.”
“The applicant’s requests are not onerous but simply based on issues of public interest, good governance, transparency and accountability. It is in the interest of justice to grant this application, as the respondent has nothing to lose if the application is granted,” SERAP argued in the suit.
SERAP is also, through the suit, seeking an order to compel the President to “instruct appropriate security and law enforcement agencies to ensure the protection and guarantee the safety and security of the journalist, Jaafar Jaafar, who made public the alleged bribery video online.”
