FG Dragged To Court Over NANS

FG Dragged To Court Over NANS Nnamdi Felix / Abuja A legal practitioner, Mr. Abubakar Sani, on Friday dragged the Federal Government before a Federal High Court siting in Abuja challenging the legality of the National Association of Nigerian Students and asking that the students body be proscribed by the court. Mr. Sani brought his suit under public interest litigation pursuant to fundamental rights enforcement procedure rule, 2009 and sections 26, 40, and 215 of the constitution as well as Articles 7, 10 and 17 of the African Charter. He contended that sections 1 to 6 of the Students Union Activities Control and Regulation Act 1989 restricts student union's activities to their particular campuses and did not provide for a multi campus or a single nationwide umbrella students body like NANS and stated that the "illegal students union" infringes on students freedom of association under section 40 of the Nigerian constitution. According to Sani, the nationwide Nigerian students' union is illegal and should be proscribed by the court which has the power to do so and he called on the court to so do. He posited that although the Students Act empowers the Minister of Education to proscribe the students' body, exercising such power will run foul of the provision of section 36 (2) of the constitution. The section provides that a law shall not be invalidated by reason only that it confers on any government or authority power to determine questions arising in the administration of a law that affects or may affect the civil rights. Or obligation of any person. He urged the court to exercise its powers and proscribe the National Association of Nigerian Students. The suit has the Attorney  general and the minister of Education as the defendants, NANS was however not joined as a party in the suit to enable the umbrella Nigerian students body to fight for its existence. In a preliminary objection filed by the Attorney General, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, the Federal Government challenged the competence of the suit as well as the locus standi of Mr. Sani in instituting the suit. Mrs. Maimuna Dashiru who represented the Attorney General at the proceedings told the court that Mr. Sani did not disclose any cause of action against the AGF and failed to show what injury he suffers over and above other Nigerians by the existence of the nationwide students body and urgent the court to strike out the suit which she said, is non justiceable. For the Education minister, represented by Mrs. C. E. Otunya, the suit amounts to a vexatious provocation as, according to her, Mr. Sani is not a Nigerian student and as such cannot be challenging the legality of that body. She also faulted the non inclussion of the students body in the suit. She joined the AGF in urging the court to strike out the suit. The trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, thereafter reserved ruling on the matter with a promise to dispense with the matter with utmost dispatch. If the preliminary objection of the Federal Government succeeds, the suit will be struck out but if it fails, then the end of NANS, a cherished students body which had consistently joined the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, in pushing for good governance through mass protests and rallies, may well be in sight.

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