A legal practitioner, Emmanuel Ekpenyong, Monday, urged the Supreme Court to compel the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to promulgate the order on foreign judgments.
Ekpenyong, Blueprint reports, had dragged the AGF to the Supreme Court after the Court of Appeal, in appeal number: CA/A/132/2020, between Ekpenyong and AGF, dismissed the appeal on May 12, 2022.
The Appeal Court upheld the judgement of the Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja, delivered by retired Justice Anwuli Chikere, that the AGF has absolute discretionary powers under Section 3 (1) of the Act to promulgate an order to bring Part 1 of the Act into operation.
But the Supreme Court had on May 27, 2024, granted leave to Ekpenyong to appeal the judgement of the Appeal Court which dismissed his appeal against the AGF.
In a unanimous ruling delivered by Justice Adamu Jauro, a five-member panel of the apex court granted the appellant’s prayer to seek redress.
In the appellant’s brief marked: SC/CR/92/2024 dated and filed on October 17, 2024 at the Supreme Court by Mr Ekpenyong of the law firm of Fred-Young & Evans LP, the human right and constitutional lawyer raised two issues for determination.
According to him, the court is empowered to go beyond the mere wordings and literal interpretation of the provision of Section 3 (1) (a) of the 1990 Act which confers administrative discretion on the AGF, to know the intention for which the legislature made the provision and enacted the Act.
He contended that this can be achieved by ascertaining whether the condition precedent for the AGF to exercise the discretion exists in fact or in law.
He urged the court to probe further whether the reasons for failure of the AGF to exercise the discretion more than 64 years after the Act was enacted is fair, just, in good faith, reasonable and in the interest of peace, order and good government.