The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the suit filed by some state governments led by Kogi State to challenge the establishment and prosecutorial powers of Nigeria’s key anti-corruption agencies.
The verdict laid to rest wide-ranging issues often raised by state governments against investigations and prosecutions of their current and former officials by the federal agencies.
The agencies are the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corruption Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) as well as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
A seven-member panel led by Uwani Abba-Aji unanimously dismissed the suit filed by 19 state governments to challenge the agencies’ existence on Friday.
The court held that the suit lacked merit.
Ms Abba-Aji, who delivered the lead judgement, also rebuked the plaintiffs, describing their intention behind the filing of the legal action as “selfish”.
She held that the first plaintiff (Kogi State) “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 plaintiffs’ suit.”
The judge said Kogi offered itself as a “puppet” for corrupt practices by leading the charge against the anti-corruption agencies.
The court also affirmed the investigative and prosecutorial powers of the EFCC and the ICPC over crimes committed at both the state and federal levels.
It is of no moment if the states have set up their own anti-corruption agencies. Ms Abba-Aji held that as much as Kogi and other states have the power to enact their own laws, no state government can enact a law to compete with the Acts of the National Assembly establishing EFCC, NFIU, and ICPC.
“No state has the right to enact a law that is inconsistent with the laws enacted by the National Assembly,” she said.
The Kogi State government, through its Attorney-General, commenced the suit at a time when the immediate-past governor of the state, Yahaya Bello, was battling to avoid trial by the EFCC.
Since the time the suit commenced at the Supreme Court, EFCC has filed another case of fraud involving an alleged diversion of over N110 billion from Kogi State’s coffers against Mr Bello, who completed his second and final term as governor in January. The new case added to the pre-existing one involving N80 billion money laundering charges.
Both cases are pending before separate courts in Abuja. So far, Mr Bello, who enjoys the full backing of his successor, Governor Usman Ododo, has managed to avoid arraignment in the two cases, shunning several court summonses.
After Kogi State filed the suit at the Supreme Court to challenge the establishment of EFCC and other agencies, a flood of other states joined. The number of plaintiffs kept fluctuating as more states joined and others withdrew as plaintiffs.
The states that remained plaintiffs as of the time of judgement are Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Enugu, Oyo, Plateau, Cross River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Imo, Osun, Nasarawa, Ogun, and Taraba.
Benue and Jigawa states announced their withdrawal from the suit after the Supreme Court heard the submissions of parties and adjourned for judgement.
The plaintiffs had, in their suit, argued that the Supreme Court, in a precedent – Joseph Nwobike Vs Federal Republic of Nigeria – held that it was a UN Convention against corruption that was reduced into the EFCC Establishment Act and that in enacting this law in 2004, the provision of Section 12 of the Nigerian Constitution was not followed.
They argued that, to implement a convention in Nigeria, the provision of section 12 must be complied with.
According to them, the provisions of the constitution require the majority of the states’ Houses of Assembly agreeing to the implementation of the convention before passing the EFCC Act and others, which was allegedly never done.
On 22 October, the court adjourned for judgement after the hearing of submissions of parties to the case.
