The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the challenging the establishment and prosecutorial powers of key anti-corruption agencies – Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corruption Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), as well as another related anti-graft agency.
A seven-member panel led by Uwani Abba-Aji unanimously dismissed the suit filed by 19 state governments for lacking in merit and, in a stinging rebuke, described legal action as “selfish”.
Delivering the lead judgement, Mrs Abba-Aji held that the first plaintiff (Kogi AG) and others “opened the can of worms and skeletons in its cupboard” with its claim in the suit that the EFCC had invited and investigated officials of the state government.
According to Ms Abba-Aji, the claim was the height of “the selfish reasons of the plaintiff’s suit.”
She said that as much as Kogi State has the right to enact laws, any of its laws that contradict the EFCC Act, NFIU Act, and ICPC Act, which have been enacted by the National Assembly, cannot have the force of law.
“No state has the right to enact a law that is inconsistent with the laws enacted by the National Assembly,” she said, faulting the AG of Kogi for acting as a “puppet” for corrupt practices.
Background
The lawsuit commenced by the Kogi State Government—before other states joined—caused a row in Benue State.
On Wednesday, Governor Hyacinth Alia suspended the state’s attorney general, Mr Mynin, for allegedly joining the lawsuit without prior authorisation from the governor’s office.
The Supreme Court heard the submissions of parties and reserved judgement on the suit on Tuesday, when three other states—Anambra, Adamawa, and Ebonyi—also announced their withdrawals from the case.
Anambra State’s attorney general, Sylvia Ifemeje, cited a 20 October motion for withdrawal in her announcement, while Ebonyi’s attorney general, Ikenna Nwidagu, requested the removal of his state’s name through a 21 October filing.
Governor Alia’s spokesperson, Kula Tersoo, confirmed the attorney-general’s suspension in a statement on Wednesday. “It’s true, His Excellency today suspended the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order for joining the suit challenging the legality of EFCC without informing the governor,” Mr Tersoo said.
Constitutional challenge against the EFCC
Nineteen state governments led by Kogi (the 1st plaintiff), who are behind the suit, argued that the establishment of EFCC and ICPC violated Nigeria’s constitution.
They based their claim on the contention that the establishment of the agencies ran contrary to a 2004 Supreme Court precedent, which, according to them, mandated that international conventions—such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption which gave rise to the EFCC Act – must get a majority vote from Nigeria’s state assemblies before becoming effective.
The plaintiffs contended that the EFCC Act bypassed this process, rendering the agency’s powers illegitimate.
Presenting their case on 22 October, the lead counsel for Kogi State, Mohammed Abdulwahab, urged the Supreme Court to uphold the states’ arguments.
He argued that the EFCC Act’s enactment “was never approved by the majority of states, as required by Section 12 of the constitution,” making its authority over non-consenting states unconstitutional.
Federal Government’s response
Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General of the Federation, rebutted these claims, arguing that past Supreme Court rulings, including AG Ondo v. AG Federation, had already settled the constitutional issues raised.
He requested the court dismiss the suit, contending that the EFCC Act’s legitimacy was well established by legal precedent.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court struck out a related suit filed by the Attorney General of Ekiti State after the plaintiff failed to appear. Additionally, Osun, Nasarawa, and Ogun states each requested to consolidate their cases with Kogi’s lead suit, agreeing to accept the final judgement.
Benue and Anambra states withdrew from the case after the hearing of the suit last month.
The remaining plaintiffs that unwaveringly pursued the suit are: Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Oyo, Plateau, Cross River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Imo, Osun, Nasarawa, Ogun, and Taraba.
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