The Federal High Court has granted two separate applications for the removal of the new Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Olanipekun Olukoyede.
Both cases were filed by lawyers – Mr. Stanley Okawara and Mr. Maxwell Para.
The first suit marked FHC/KN/CS/280/202 was filed at the Kano State Judicial Division while the second suit: FHC/ABJ/CS/1410/2023 is pending at the Abuja Division.
Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Kano High Court fixed October 30 for the hearing of an application to restrain the EFCC chairman, whose appointment was confirmed by the Senate on October 12, from exercising his duties and functions.
The plaintiff, through his lawyer, Jideobi Johnmarie, applied to the court for a temporary restraining order against Olukoyede, but Justice Liman ordered him to serve notices on all the defendants.
President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the EFCC have been identified as defendants.
The court ordered the plaintiff to join EFCC Chairman Olukoyede and Secretary General Muhammad Hamamjoda as the fourth and fifth defendants respectively.
Justice Liman also authorized the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, to serve on the complainant a copy of the complaint against President Tinubu.
The court also authorized the possibility of substitution in the case of the President of the Senate through the Secretary of the Senate.He also shortened the deadline for all defendants to appear in court and file claims to 15 days.
Specifically, the plaintiff asked the court, among other things “whether having regard to the combined provisions of Section 1(1), 1 (2), and (3), 4 and 15(5) of the Amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 2 (1) (a) of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004, the 1st defendant (Tinubu) is possessed of the constitutional powers to appoint anyone who is not a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent to the position of the Chairman of the 3rd Defendant?
“Whether having regard to the combined provisions of Section 1(1), 1 (2), and (3), 4 and 15(5) of the Amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Section 2 (1) (a) of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act 2004, the 2nd defendant (Akpabio) is possessed of the constitutional powers to receive and consider for screening and ratification by the Nigerian Senate anyone who is not a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent to the position of the Chairman of the 3rd Defendant?”.
After answering the questions of law, the plaintiff requests the court to “restrain anyone (appointed by the 1st Defendant) who is not a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent (with 15 years cognate experience) from assuming duties or performing the functions or exercising the powers of the chairman of the 3rd Defendant.
“An order nullifying and setting aside – as a nullity- the appointment and ratification as chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, of anyone who is not a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent (with 15 years cognate experience) in the event those appointment and ratification take place before the judgment of this Honourable Court is delivered in this case.”
Meanwhile, in the case pending in Abuja, the plaintiff, Opara, is praying the court to determine; “Whether having regard to Section 2 (1)(a)(i) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, it is unlawful and a void act for a person not statutorily qualified to be appointed by the President Federal Republic of Nigeria to hold the office of the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission who, by law, shall be the chief executive and accounting officer of the commission.
“Whether having regard to 2 (1) (a)(iii) of The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004, the appointment of the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Commission who by Law shall be the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the Commission on the 12th day of October, 2023, is void abinitio, conferring or extinguishing no legal rights whatsoever for not possessing atleast 15 years’ cognate experience of law enforcement.
“Whether the sole qualification of being a legal practitioner can equate the to the rank of any government security or law enforcement agent in Nigeria without formal enrolment into the same.
“Whether the 4th defendant who is not an active nor a retired security agent or law enforcement agent but a legal practitioner of not less than 22 years’ Post-call and 6 years’ experience of rendering administrative services within the commission is qualified to be appointed as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission who by Law shall be the Chief Executive and Accounting Officer of the commission.
“Whether the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, has unfettered discretion to bluntly disregard the provisions of the law donating and guiding in exercising his power to appoint a chairman for the commission as donated under section 2 (3) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004.”
He is seeking an order, “setting aside and nullifying the appointment of the 4th Defendant as the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on the 12th day of October, 2023.
“An order of injunction restraining the 4th Defendant, acting by himself or through his agents and servants, from continuing to hold out, present and or parade himself as chairman of the Economic and Crimes Financial Commission.”
Defendants 1 to 4 in the case include President Tinubu, AGF, EFCC and embattled President Olukoede who are yet to be appointed trial judges.
It would be recalled that the appointment of Olukoyede was trailed by criticisms by some lawyers in the country who argued that the new chairman of the anti-graft agency was not qualified.
Daniel Bwala, spokesperson for Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said Olukoyede lacked the capacity of what it takes to be the chairman of the EFCC because he has no experience in law enforcement or security.
He said, “This is the point; there is a baseline. The baseline is that the person must come from a security or law enforcement agency of the government, the reference is the government not the private sector.
“The security is one that is covered by the National Security Agency Act which comprises DIA, NIA and SSS. Law enforcement compromises both EFCC, the police, the NSCDC and the rest. He didn’t have the power to hold guns, he never investigated a single case because he did not come as an operative.”
But human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, in his reaction to the criticisms said Olukoyede is “eminently qualified” for the job.
