- Safiu Kehinde
The Supreme Court has dismissed the lawsuit filed by several state governors questioning the constitutionality of the legislation that established the EFCC and other anti-graft agencies.
The initial lawsuit was filed by the Attorney General of Kogi State, and subsequently, additional states joined in filing comparable lawsuits, with the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) named as the sole defendant.
According to report, a seven-member panel of the apex court led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji upheld the existence and the powers of the anti-graft agency to prosecute financial crime offenders.
The states had argued in the suit brought against the Attorney-General of the Federation that a United Nations Convention Against Corruption was incorporated into the EFCC Establishment Act, contrary to Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
NPO reported that 19 states, spear-headed by Kogi, had argued that the constitutional provision required a majority of the states’ Houses of Assembly to agree with the National Assembly to pass the EFCC Act.
However, Justice Abba-Aji in her judgement, held that the National Assembly has the constitutional power to enact laws without necessarily consulting state governments which she labelled as constituents of the federal government.
“By Section 15 of the 1999 Constitution, and the decision of this apex court in AG vs Ondo, the National Assembly has the powers to enact laws relating to fighting corruption, irrespective of whether the funds belong to the federal, state, or local governments,” she said
Abba-Aji reinstated the EFCC’s power to investigate and prosecute financial crimes while establishing that no state has the right to enact laws in contrast to the laws enacted by the National Assembly.
“Indeed, the effect of the provisions of the EFCC Act leaves no doubt that it has the power to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
“No state has the right to enact a law that is inconsistent with the laws enacted by the National Assembly.” The Supreme Court judge added.