President Muhammadu Buhari has been dragged to Supreme Court by thirty six state governors (36) over his Presidential Executive Order No. 00-10 of 2020 signed in May, 2020.
The states averred that the executive order Buhari signed had pushed the Federal Government’s responsibility of funding both the capital and recurrent expenditures of the State High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal, to the state governments.
They equally argued that except paying the salaries of judicial officers of the above mentioned courts, Buhari had since 5th May 2009, abandoned his responsibility of funding the capital and recurrent expenditure of the respective courts.
According to them, the order is a clear violation of sections 6 and 8(3) of the 1999 Constitution.
The states claimed that they had been funding the capital projects in the listed courts since 2009, while asking the apex court to order the Federal Government to make a refund to them.
“Since the 5th of May 2009, the defendant had not funded the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal of the plaintiffs’ states, apart from paying only the salaries of the judicial officers of the said courts.
“The plaintiffs’ states have been solely responsible for funding the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal and the Customary Court of Appeal of the plaintiffs’ states, which the defendant has failed and/or refused to fund”, they said, according to The Punch.
A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Augustine Alegeh, led 9 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, who filed for the states on Monday.
Abubabar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, was listed as the sole respondent in the suit.