By Udora Orizu
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court, Abuja to stop President Muhammadu Buhari from implementing unlawful provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 (CAMA) which allows the federal government to arbitrarily merge a new association with an already registered association; to suspend and remove trustees of any association; and to take over funds belonging to any association, and transfer such funds to another association on the pretext that the account is dormant.
The defendants in the suit filed on Friday with number FHC/ABJ/CS/172/2021 are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
SERAP had, in August 2020, written a letter to the president requesting him to revoke his assent to CAMA 2020 and return it to the National Assembly for a repeal of some provisions.
The organisation, in a statement issued on Sunday by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said it asked the court to stop Buhari from using draconian provisions of CAMA 2020 to target activists; arbitrarily merging of private associations, religious associations, charities, NGOs/ professional bodies under Part F and remove their trustees.
These unlawful provisions, according to SERAP, will allow the CAC to take over the funds of any such association and give such funds to another association.
SERAP said: ”We are seeking an order stopping President Buhari, Mr Malami and the CAC from implementing the provisions of CAMA 2020, which allows @NigeriaGov to arbitrarily cancel the certificate of registration of any association.
“The right to freely associate with others works both ways. The others you want to associate with must be prepared to associate with you. None can be imposed on the other. Anyone is free to associate with or dissociate from whosoever.
“The Nigerian Constitution of 1999 [as amended], International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights guarantee to everyone the right to freedom of association. The Constitution and the Charter also guarantee the right to property. These provisions may be used as a pretext for rights violations. No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.”
