A Federal High Court, Abuja, has dismissed a suit seeking to reverse the appointment of Hannatu Musawa as Minister of Art, Culture and Creative Economy by President Bola Tinubu.

Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment, held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi (legal right) to institute the suit.

Justice Omotosho also held that even where the plaintiffs were vested with the legal right to file the matter, the suit, itself, lacked merit.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, on July 27, 2023, transmitted Musawa’s name, among names of minister-designates, to the Senate for confirmation.

Musawa, a lawyer and immediate-past Presidential Adviser on Culture and Entertainment Economy, was screened by the Senate on Aug.1, 2023, and was sworn in as minister on Aug. 21, 2023.

At the time, the minister who hails from Katsina State was appointed, she was alleged to be a serving National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member.

Against this backdrop, the Incorporated Trustees of Concerned Nigeria, Chief Dr Patrick Eholor and Thomas Marcus, who were 1st to 3rd plaintiffs respectively, filed the suit before Justice Omotosho.

In the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1198/23 filed Aug. 30, 2023, the plaintiffs sued President Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Musawa as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively.

They prayed the court to determine whether by provisions of Section 2(1) and (3) of the NYSC Act and Section 4(9) of the NYSC Bye-Laws (Revised 2011), Musawa, who was a corps member at the time, was not prohibited from becoming a federal minister.

They also urged the court to determine “whether by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), whether the same qualification of a member of House of Representatives is not also the same qualification for the appointment of 3rd defendant (Musawa) as a minister and whether the same qualification is not mandatory for her to be a federal minister of Nigeria.”

Upon favourable resolution of the questions, the plaintiffs sought an order nullifying the initial recommendation, resolution to be a minister, appointment and swearing in of Musawa as a minister.

They sought an order setting aside the swearing-in of the minister.

They equally sought an order of mandatory injunction setting aside all official actions as may be carried out by her acting in any official capacity from the commencement of and swearing in of the minister to the final conclusion of the suit.

They also prayed the court to make an order for payment of general damages in the sum of N100 million against all the defendants.

In their affidavit, they argued that Musawa was mistakenly screened by the Senate and appointed as a minister to supervise the Ministry of Culture.

But the 1st and 2nd defendants in a joint preliminary objection dated and filed Feb 15, sought a dismissal of the suit for want of jurisdiction.

They argued that her appointment was done in line with extant laws as she was duly nominated, screened by the Senate and appointed by the president.

According to them, there is no law that hinders the 1st defendant from appointing a person still serving as an NYSC member as a minister.

They further argued that the only qualification is the same as a person contesting for the post of a member of the House of Representatives.

They submitted that the NYSC certificate or completion of NYSC is not amongst the basic requirements for appointment as a minister, urging the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs are incompetent to institute this suit.

On her part, Musawa, through her lawyer, argued that the 1st plaintiff was a non-existent entity and thus, not a juristic person to institute the action.

Also, she argued that none of the plaintiffs had shown how they had suffered special injury to the exclusion of all Nigerians to qualify them to maintain the suit.

In the judgment delivered on Tuesday by Justice Omotosho and the certified true copy of it sighted on Thursday, the judge agreed that for a person to be qualified for appointment as at minister, he must fulfil the conditions in Section 147 (5) of the 1999 Constitution.

According to him, Section 147 (5) says no person shall be appointed as a minister of the Government of the Federation unless he is qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives.

“It is clear from the above that the qualification for being a member of the House of Representatives will guide the qualification for being a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.

The judge said that based on Section 65, and subject to Section 66, a person shall be qualified for election as a member of the House of Representatives if he is a citizen of Nigeria and has attained the age of 30 years.

He said it equally provided that a person shall be qualified for election under Subsection (1) of this section if he has been educated up to at least school certificate level or its equivalent; and he is a member of a political party and is sponsored by that party.

“The constitution has made it crystal clear the qualifications and grounds for disqualification as a minister and being a serving corp member is not one of such grounds.

“As a matter of fact, a person to be appointed as a minister only needs to show that he has been educated up to secondary school level.

“Thus the National Youth Service Corps Certificate which can only be attained by graduates who have completed the scheme is a surplusage to the basic requirements to be a minister.

“I therefore hold that there is nothing stopping the 1st defendant (Tinubu) from appointing the 3rd defendant (Musawa) as a minister as she is eminently qualified to be so appointed.

“In final analysis, the plaintiffs lack locus standi to institute this action.

“Even where they are vested with locus standi, the suit lacks merit — same is hereby dismissed,” Justice Omotosho declared.

The United States Government has criticized the arbitrary arrests of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), by security personnel in Nigeria.

In its ‘2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nigeria,’ published Tuesday on the U.S. Department of State’s website, the U.S. highlighted concerns about lengthy pre-trial detention, denying detainees access to court, and frustrating the country’s judicial system.

The report revealed that in the prosecution of corruption cases, law enforcement and intelligence agencies did not always follow due process, resulting in the arrest of suspects without appropriate arrest and search warrants.

Regarding Emefiele’s case, the report detailed that he was detained by the Department of State Services (DSS) “for investigative reasons” on June 10.

Although a Federal High Court in Lagos granted him bail on July 25, ordering him to be held at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre until bail was made, the DSS attempted to arrest him again, leading to a confrontation between DSS agents and Nigerian Correctional Service officers.

Similarly, Nnamdi Kanu, designated as a leader of a government-designated terrorist organization, IPOB, was detained by the DSS on national security grounds.

Despite being charged with treason, terrorism, and illegal possession of firearms, Kanu fled abroad in 2017 after skipping bail, only to be arrested and returned to Nigeria in 2021.

In 2022, an appeal court in Abuja dropped all charges against Kanu and ordered his release, but the federal government appealed.

The Supreme Court overturned the appeals court ruling on December 15, stating that Kanu faced terrorism charges despite acknowledging rights violations during his arrest and extradition. Kanu remained incarcerated at the year’s end.

The report also highlighted challenges within Nigeria’s judicial system, including a shortage of trial judges, trial backlogs, endemic corruption, bureaucratic inertia, and undue political influence.

It said delays in cases were exacerbated by logistical issues, such as the need for more vehicles to transport detainees to court and authorities losing case files.

Overall, the U.S. expressed concerns about Nigeria’s judicial system’s inadequacies, emphasizing the need for fair and transparent legal processes to uphold human rights.

President Bola Tinubu says Nigeria is well-positioned to power the clean energy future of Europe and the world with its high-grade lithium deposits.

Speaking during a meeting with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands at his official residence, known as The Catshuis in The Hague, on Thursday, the President said Nigeria offers immense opportunities across a pool of sectors and that his administration is deepening reforms to enhance the investment climate.

He said Nigeria seeks robust, balanced, and mutually beneficial partnerships that will bring about value-addition in areas like solid minerals.

“Taking a holistic view of the world order, there is a tremendous opportunity between us across trade spheres but especially in solid minerals, where we have high-grade lithium deposits that we know can power the clean energy future of the world. There is excellent value-additive opportunity in Nigeria. The world knows us for oil. They will soon know us for greater innovative exploits in other areas.

“We have an extremely dynamic youth population in Nigeria. It is a young country. 70% of our people are under the age of 30, and when we are referring to 200 million plus citizens, it represents both a massive workforce and a massive market for Dutch and other international investors.

“If our young people know they can achieve a good future in Nigeria, they will stay home and build our nation to greatness. Lawful migration of trained Nigerian minds and hands will be a benefit to Europe, and irregular migration will no longer be a source of fear in Europe if we partner effectively.

“This is what we want and it is why we are adamant about providing student loans and new credit opportunities to not only enhance the skills of our people but also to ensure that they can access a higher quality of life within their legitimate incomes. We will transform our economy, and our young people will be the reason why,” the President stated.

President Tinubu asserted that Nigerians have tremendous confidence in themselves and that his confidence in the Nigerian people gave him the courage to take difficult decisions on their behalf, given his full awareness of the need to give Nigerians the long-term tools they need to succeed.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain. We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian Naira is one of the world’s best performing currencies today. We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us. They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new oppportunities for development. As leaders, we must take decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that,” the President said.

The Prime Minister of the Netherlands noted that President Tinubu’s economic reforms have engendered greater confidence in the Nigerian economy by international investors and that Dutch investors have activated another set of $250 million worth of new investments over the next few months, including a $100 million investment in a waste-to-wealth industrial facility in Lagos State.

“You are promoting democratic governance and the solutions it can bring in dealing with problems of development. I saw how you went through democratic channels to remove an incumbent president in 2015 in partnership with President Buhari and how that has led to development in your country.

“I saw you take the courageous decision to deal with fuel subsidies and other reforms, and we are interested in what allowed you to take the decisions that many before you could not take. And you took those decisions early in your term. It shows rare determination. And your stand in ECOWAS, all of these point to your commitment in leadership,” the Prime Minister stated.

President Tinubu further expressed his firm commitment to develop the developmental partnership between the European Union (EU) and Nigeria, noting that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.