By Kolawole Ojebisi
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will today (Tuesday) know whether it will continue its operations as an anti-graft commission in the country or be scrapped and rendered defunct.
This is as the Supreme Court is set to rule on the suit jointly filed by 16 state governors, through their attorneys-general, contesting the constitutionality of the law establishing the commission.
The governors and the EFCC are eagerly awaiting the judgment of the apex court, which would confirm the legality or otherwise of the anti-graft commission.
The state governments, in their suit, had argued that the Supreme Court, in Dr Joseph Nwobike Vs Federal Republic of Nigeria, held that it was a United Nations Convention against corruption that was reduced into the EFCC Establishment Act and that in enacting the law in 2004, the provision of Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, was not followed.
They argued that in bringing a convention into Nigerian law, the provision of Section 12 must be complied with.
According to the plaintiffs, the provision of the Constitution necessitated the majority of the states’ houses of assembly agreeing to bring the convention in before passing the EFCC Act and others, which was allegedly never done.
The argument of the states in their present suit, which had reportedly been corroborated by the Supreme Court in a previous case mentioned, is that the law, as enacted, could not be applied to states that never approved of it, in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution, argued some.
Hence, they further argued that any institution so formed should be regarded as an illegal institution.
The suit was initiated by the Kogi State government and joined by the Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River and Niger.
A seven-member panel of justices, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, on Tuesday, fixed October 22 for a hearing.
The EFCC, however, expressed dismay over call for the overhaul of their institution, stating that those pushing for such are “feeling the heat of its work.”
The EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this in an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Monday.
Uwujaren defended the significance of the commission, stating that Nigerians needed to fight against corruption.
“We are shocked by what is happening. Nigerians should see through this shenanigan and oppose it because I don’t see how this country can survive without the EFCC, given the kind of corruption problem that we have. Nigeria cannot do without the EFCC.
“I am worried that, with the kind of problem we have with corruption in this country, some people would go to court to challenge the legality of the EFCC.
“For citizens in their states, I am not sure that the EFCC is their greatest problem. I doubt that this is the case. What you see playing out is simply people who are feeling the heat of the work of the EFCC and who want to derail what is going on within the EFCC.
“They see the EFCC as a threat, which is what is playing out. I think Nigerians can see through the gimmick of those who are behind the challenge to the legality of the commission,” Uwujaren said.
The EFCC official noted that those behind the call for the overhaul were determined to “derail” the commission’s anti-corruption fight.
“So, people who are concerned about transparency and accountability will wish for the EFCC to be ‘killed’. Let me use the word ‘killed’ because that is the agenda.
“They simply want to derail the fight against corruption because they don’t want accountability in their domains,” he said.
Meanwhile, the vexed issue has polarised opinions by legal luminaries and Senior Advocated in the country.
While former Nigeria Bar Association President, Olisa Agbakoba, has thrown his weight, by writing two letters to the National Assembly, behind the governors’ stance, his fellow Senior Advocate, Femi Falana holds a contrary view and maintains that the legality of the commission is constitutional.
“I very strongly believe the EFCC is unconstitutionally established. The powers under which it was established go beyond the powers of the National Assembly. The EFCC is an unlawful organisation.” Agbakoba had written in a letter to the National Assembly on October 14, 2024.
However, three days later, Falana, a human rights activist, in his letter to the National Assembly, opposed Agbakoba’s view.
He insisted that the former NBA president’s position was based on the premise that the establishment of the EFCC violated the basic principles of federalism.
Nigerians, including the governors and officials of the EFCC, await the ruling of the apex court of the land with bated breath today as the clock continues to tick
