Lawyer Files Suit Against Buhari Over Fuel Scarcity

A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Festus Ogun, has filed a suit against the President Muhammadu Buhari at the Federal High Court in Lagos over the excessive hardship Nigerians went through as a result of the fuel scarcity experienced earlier this year.

In the suit, numbered FHC/L/CS/743/22, with a copy made available to The Lawyer on Monday, Ogun prayed the court to stop Buhari from serving as the Minister of Petroleum Resources or from holding any other executive office in any capacity whatsoever, adding that the president could not serve efficiently in the office.

Ogun stated that “in February 2022, there was an unprecedented nationwide fuel scarcity that lingered for about a month; leaving citizens of Nigeria, inclusive of the Plaintiff, in pain, hardship, and agony”, adding that the hardship equally affected the smooth running of his business and that of other Nigerians.

Ogun, in a separate statement, also said, “I have just filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari at the Federal High Court in Lagos over the excessive pain, hardship, and agony Nigerians went through as a result of the fuel scarcity experienced earlier this year.

“I solemnly believe that the gross inefficiency and mismanagement in the Petroleum Sector, that led to the fuel scarcity, is avoidable if the President was not holding the dual position of Petroleum Minister in violation of Section 138 of the 1999 Constitution.

“I believe that the President’s continuous serving as Petroleum Minister is not only illegal and unconstitutional, it is inimical to our economic growth and likely to occasion future scarcity and inefficiency that will affect the country and its good people.

“I make bold to say that it is practically and legally impossible for the President to hold his elected position, which comes with enormous responsibilities, contemporaneously with the position of Petroleum Minister. It has no basis in law, logic, and politics.

A date was yet to be fixed for the hearing of the suit.