Razaq Bamidele
A former President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Olisa Agbakoba is set for the law Court to find out the exact scope of the power of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The senior lawyer’s reason, according to a statement released on Tuesday evening, is to legally prove his stance that the Commission has been breaking the rule of law, especially with the manner it prosecutes matters relating to states of the Federation, maintaining that the EFCC must not in the fight against corruption undermine the rule of law.
The statement was titled, “The Scope of Powers of EFCC Will Be Tested By The Courts.”
The Senior Advocate in the statement quoted a very recent decision, Dr. Joseph Nwobike SAN v The Federal Republic of Nigeria FRN SC/CR/161/2020, in which the Supreme Court drastically limited the scope of powers of the EFCC, as it recognised that the EFCC being very powerful, could not be allowed to run amok.
The statement reads: “Concerned that the EFCC often exceeds its powers in the investigation and prosecution of alleged offenders of our criminal laws, I held a media press conference to express my concerns, which I do occasionally on several national issues. I stated that I felt that the EFCC often but not all the time, I must concede, exceeded its powers in what it considers to be its public duty, in the war against corruption in Nigeria.
“The EFCC issued a response stating that I was wrong to take the views that it sometimes acts outside the scope of its powers vested by the EFCC Act. The EFCC referred to some cases, but I would say that in a very recent decision, Dr. Joseph Nwobike SAN v The Federal Republic of Nigeria FRN SC/CR/161/2020, the Supreme Court drastically limited the scope of powers of the EFCC, as it recognised that the EFCC being very powerful could not be allowed to run amok.
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“I am not a court. Neither is the EFCC. I will proceed to the Court for a declaration on the exact scope of powers of the EFCC, especially in relation to states of the Federation. A declaration by a Judicial authority is the most valid process to authenticate if I am right or wrong with respect to my position that the EFCC often acts contrary to the law.
“I am not in any way against the EFCC on the fight against corruption. As admitted by the EFCC, I have always supported the fight against corruption. My concern is that the EFCC, in its undoubted statutory powers to stamp out corruption in Nigeria must strictly conform to the prescriptions of the law. EFCC must not in the fight against corruption undermine the rule of law. So, to the courts I go.”
Recall Dr. Olisa Agbakoba addressed a press conference in Lagos on Sunday on “The Rule of Law in Nigeria Today,” where he faulted the anti-graft agency over its recent actions against the Kogi State Government.
At the well attended conference, the Senior Advocate expressed the conviction that, how a state spends its money should not be the business of the anti-graft agency, accusing the Commission of impunity by assuming it was its business to inquire how the state spends its money.