The Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court (FHC), Sulaiman Amida, has responded to allegations that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) sponsored some judges to have training in London.
Amida, in a statement issued on Sunday, described the allegation as untrue and malicious.
OsunDailyNG reported that Nigerian lawyers knocked the AMCON for allegedly sponsoring some Federal High Court judges for training in the United Kingdom.
The lawyers assert that the judicial officers were reportedly flown abroad by the government agency for the training.
AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Modibbo Tukur, were allegedly actively involved in the annual training for the judges in London.
According to SaharaReporters, sources claimed that AMCON flew the judges to London for the training at colossal expense, even when almost all the resource persons are from Nigeria.
A source told the platform that “Hon. Justice John T. Tsoho, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice A.O. Faji of the Federal High Court, and other Federal High Court Judges from Nigeria are currently in London for the training, which was declared open on Monday, July 31 by the High Commissioner for Nigeria in the UK, Sarafa Tunji Isola.”
However, in its reaction, the FHC said, “The malicious portrayal of AMCON as funding judges’ trip to London for training at a huge expense was crass misinformation. The report is entirely false and a figment of the reporter’s imagination. It is designed to malign the Federal High Court.”
The FHC registrar clarified that the National Judicial Council is responsible for the funding of judges’ foreign training.
Amida admitted there was a London training, but he noted that it was solely organised by the management of the Federal High Court and was bankrolled by the National Judicial Council.
He described AMCON and NFIU’s involvement in training as ‘purely participatory.’
Amida explained that “The relevant budgetary sub-heads are 0103 International Travels and Training; 0104 International Travels: Others (Medical) and 0502 International Training (course fee).
“While acknowledging the presence of the Federal High Court judges for training in London, it is pertinent to state that both the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit are vital statutory stakeholders regarding the court’s jurisdiction.
“Their involvement in the training was purely participatory, as experts in their specialised fields.”
Amida said it was the tradition of the Federal High Court to send its judges on annual foreign training “to keep them abreast of international best practices obtainable.”
