Human rights activist and lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has written to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to oppose the view expressed by the ex-president of the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA), Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), regarding the legal status of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
In a letter dated 17 October 2024, Falana disagreed with Agbakobas assertion that the EFCC is an unlawful organisation.
The letter read: Our attention has been drawn to separate letters addressed to the Senate and House of Representatives, dated 14 October 2024, entitled: Re: Urgent Legislative Attention on Constitutional Reforms Relating to Law Enforcement Agencies and Anti-Corruption Efforts, in which Dr Olisa Agbakoba argued that the power under which the EFCC was established exceeds the powers of the National Assembly.
Convinced that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is an unlawful organisation because it was unconstitutionally established, Agbakoba stated that he was pleased to see many states challenging the constitutionality of the EFCC.
Falana further stated that Agbakoba did not cite any case to substantiate his claim that the Supreme Court had criticised the EFCCs activities and existence.
He stated, Even though Dr Agbakoba did not refer to any particular case, he claimed that the Supreme Court has often criticised the EFCC. On the contrary, the Supreme Court has consistently supported the efforts of both the ICPC and EFCC in combating the miasma of monumental corruption in the country.
Falana also noted that Agbakobas position was based on the premise that the establishment of the EFCC violated the basic principles of federalism.
Speaking further, Falana noted that since the establishment of the EFCC, no one had challenged the legality of the EFCC Act in any court of law. According to him, The EFCC is the coordinating agency for the enforcement of the provisions of any other law or regulation on economic and financial crimes, including the Criminal Code and Penal Code. The Commission has powers under section 13(2) of the EFCC Act to prosecute offences as long as they are financial crimes.
Falana criticised some State governments for seeking to frustrate the Federal Governments anti-graft initiatives instead of supporting these agencies to thrive.
According to him, Instead of ensuring that the EFCC, ICPC, and Code of Conduct Bureau serve as common agencies of the people of Nigeria in combating monumental corruption, some state governments have shown a tendency to terminate grave economic and financial crimes by filing ‘nolle prosequi’ applications.
Others typically rush to either State High Court or Federal High Court to obtain frivolous court injunctions to frustrate the prosecution of serving public officers, thereby making a mockery of public accountability and transparency in government.
Falana urged the 10th National Assembly to seize the opportunity provided by the ongoing Constitution amendment to resolve questions about the legality of the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), by entrenching both in the Constitution.
In other words, if both commissions are constitutionalised, they will be protected and strengthened to fight the menace of corruption and money laundering, the senior lawyer stated.
