Laywer Sues Buhari, Osinbajo Over Assets Declaration

Kabir Akingbolu, a lawyer and human rights activist, sued President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo over their failure to publicly declare assets contrary to their pledge made during the election campaign.

According to Vanguard, Akingbolu initiated the suit, which suggests that by declaring their assets secretly, the top officials breached  Section 172 and Section 11 (1) and (2) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers under the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The suit was filed in Lagos Federal High Court and was backed by other defendants, including the attorney general of the AGF (Attorney General Federation) and the CCB (Code of Conduct Bureau).
The lawyer asked court to make it obligatory for Buhari and Osinbajo to make the content of their declarations public. He lamented that the CCB “has been shielding Buhari and Osinbajo by not publicizing their purported declaration of assets in line with the law”.

“I know as a fact as a legal practitioner that Buhari and Osinbajo are duty bound to declare their assets publicly and it will be in the interest of justice, public peace and good governance to grant the reliefs in this suit.”

It should be recalled that President Buhari and his vice did file the declarations to the CCB shortly after the inauguration. However, the Bureau rejected the request to make their content available to Nigerians. The explanation was that the body is authorized to make declarations public ” only on terms and conditions prescribed by the National Assembly”. This is apparently what Akingbolu meant when he accused the body of covering the two politicians.