Godwin Sunday Ugboji, the Lawyer, who instituted a suit challenging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s move to establish Islamic banking system in Nigeria, said that the apex bank does not have the constitutional backing to establish such system.
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja had last month declared the non-interest financial institution operating under the principles of Islamic jurisprudence as illegal and unconstitutional.
Delivering judgement, in the suit filed by Mr Ugboji, challenging the licence issued to Jaiz Bank by the CBN, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, held that had it not been that the plaintiff lacked the locus standi to institute the action, he would have nullified the licence issued to the Jaiz International Bank Plc to carry out Islamic banking in the country.
“There are no provisions in the CBN Act and the banks provided for in the Banks and other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) that empowers the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to issue license for non-interest financial institution to operate under the principles of Islamic jurisprudence without the approval of the Head of State through the Minister of Finance.
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