By Evelyn Usman
The suspended members of the Board of Trustees of the Kaduna-based Al-Manar Education and Development Foundation has taken the Corporate Affairs Commission CAC to the Federal High Court, challenging the regulator’s decision to appoint an interim manager for the organization.
Court documents revealed that the CAC, suspended the foundation’s board of trustees on September 10, 2025, and installed an interim management team.
But the suspended trustees in their filings, in suit number FHC/KD/CS/115/2025, contended that the Commission acted without prior notice and did not grant them an opportunity to be heard, despite their unexpired tenure,arguing that it constituted a breach of fair hearing and due process as enshrined in law.
The applicants prayed the court for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the
respondents from parading themselves as Interim Managers or lverseers of Al- Manar Education and Development Foundation pending the hearing and
determination of the originating motion.
Providing the grounds upon which the application was brought, the suit stated : “The Applicants as law abiding citizens of Nigeria and members of an Islamic religious association are registered as
incorporated of Trustees of AL-MANAR EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION,and are entitled to the right to fair hearing and freedom of thought,conscience and religion as
guaranteed by Sections 36(1)and 38 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
“The 1st respondent acting in its capacity as the Regulator of
Companies and other Non-Governmental Organizations registered under the Companies And Allied Matters Act 2020
wrote a letter dated the 10th day of September 2025 to the applicants purporting to suspend them from their membership of the Board of Trustees of Al-Manar Education and Development Fiundation for a period of six months
with effect from the 22nd September 2025,and appointed the 2nd,3rd,4th,5th and 6th Respondents as interim Managers to oversee the affairs of the foundation.
“In exercising its powers under Section 839 of the Companies
and Allied Matters Act 2020 the 1st Respondent ought to but
deliberately failed to follow the mandatory procedures laid
down in Regulations 28,29,30,31 and 45 of the Companies Regulations 2021,in order to ensure that the applicants are
afforded a fair hearing in protection of their right to fair hearing guaranteed under section 36(1)of the 1999
Constitution as amended”
The suit also references the background of one interim appointee, noting past encounters with security agencies and subsequent prosecution that did not result in a cited conviction.
Though legal analysts emphasize the presumption of innocence and stress that the core judicial issue remains the scope and procedure of the CAC’s regulatory powers.
Further claims in the filings said the appointments were made without consultation with the organisation’s leadership or community, prompting discussions on the autonomy of incorporated trustees. The documents also alluded to alleged personal relationships between some appointees and senior officials of the Commission, noting such conflict-of-interest concerns were matters for judicial determination.
The trustees’ suit also referenced alleged correspondence to banks seeking changes to the foundation’s account signatories,actions observers say require judicial scrutiny to confirm their alignment with the Commission’s statutory mandate.
However, the CAC has not issued a detailed response to the specific claims but it maintained in general terms that its actions were to ensure legal compliance.
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