News Editor
By David Odama
Anxiety and tension is reportedly mounting as the Supreme court is set to rule on the suit filed by the 19 state governments on the constitutionality of the laws that established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in the country today.
The governors and the EFCC are eagerly awaiting the outcome of the judgment of the apex court, which would laid to rest the legality or otherwise of the anti-graft commission.
The governors had in their suit, 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 governors in their suit, which had reportedly been corroborated by the Supreme Court in the 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.
They governors equally argued that any institution so formed should be regarded as an illegal institution, just as the suit was initiated by the Kogi State government and joined by the Nasarawa, Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River and Niger states.
A seven-member panel of justices, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji had on Tuesday, fixed October 22 (today) for a hearing.
The EFCC, however, expressed dismay over the call for the overhaul of their institution, stating that those pushing for such were “feeling the heat of its statutory duties”
The EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, had in an interview on Channels Television Brief programme on Monday.
Uwujaren who defended the significance of the commission, stated 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”, Uwujaren declared
