EFCC's future: Supreme Court reserves judgment as 19 States battle for justice

By Taiye Agbaje/Ebere Agozie

The court is expected to announce the date for its judgment at a later time.

In the case brought forward by the states, the plaintiffs argued that the EFCC’s establishment was based on a United Nations Convention against corruption.

They claimed that the enactment of the EFCC Act in 2004 violated Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires the majority approval of state Houses of Assembly before such a law can be implemented at the state level.

The plaintiffs asserted that this approval was not obtained, and thus, the EFCC cannot lawfully operate in states that did not endorse the legislation.

At the latest hearing, three additional states-Imo, Bauchi, and Taraba, joined the suit as co-plaintiffs, while Osun State sought to merge its case with the primary suit.

Meanwhile, Anambra, Ebonyi, and Adamawa states opted to withdraw their participation from the lawsuit.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, who represented the defence, submitted a legal process earlier that day, which the court accepted.

He argued that the issues raised by the plaintiffs had already been addressed in prior rulings, such as in the case of AG Ondo v. AG Federation, and called for the dismissal of the suit.

The plaintiffs’ lead counsel, Mohammed Abdulwahab, SAN, requested the court to strike out the old submissions and adopt the newly filed processes.

He reiterated that the foundation of the EFCC Act should be revisited and argued that it was essential to prevent a constitutional crisis.

Justice Uwani Abba-Aji reserved judgment in the case filed by Kogi State and ruled that the suits from Osun, Nasarawa, and Ogun seeking consolidation would be handled in line with the arguments presented in the original Kogi case.

As of Tuesday, 19 states, including Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Oyo, Benue, Plateau, Cross River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Imo, Osun, Nasarawa, Ogun, and Taraba, were part of the suit.

Despite the withdrawal of three states, the challenge to the EFCC’s constitutional legitimacy has gained significant traction.