Supreme Court: Anambra Dumps 16 Govs, Withdraws From Suit Seeking to Declare EFCC Illegal

• In a surprising move, Anambra state has withdrawn from the lawsuit challenging the legality of the EFCC
• Anambra’s Attorney General, Prof. Sylvia Ifemeje, made this known at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 22
• As it stands, 16 states are challenging the constitutionality of the EFCC and the Supreme Court will determine if the operations of the anti-graft agency will be scrapped or not

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

The Anambra state government, led by Charles Soludo, announced its decision to withdraw from the suit seeking to declare the operations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) illegal on Tuesday, October 22.

The state, through its Attorney General, Prof. Sylvia Ifemeje, told the Supreme Court that it was no longer willing to participate in the legal action originally instituted by Kogi state.

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The withdrawal notice was dated October 20.

As reported by Vanguard, Anambra took the position on the day that Osun state, through its Attorney-General, Mr Oluwole Bada, applied to consolidate its grievance against the EFCC's operations with that of Kogi state.

16 govs want EFCC's operations scrapped

Recall that 16 state governments, in their suit, had challenged the constitutionality of laws establishing the EFCC and two other agencies. The states argued that these laws violated the Nigerian Constitution.

The plaintiffs contended that the EFCC laws were enacted without adhering to Section 12 of the Constitution. They noted that the section mandates that international conventions be approved by a majority of state Houses of Assembly before being enacted into Nigerian law in 2004.

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EFCC files fresh charges against former Kwara governor, former commissioner, details emerge

A seven-member panel of justices, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, will hear the cases filed against the EFCC on Tuesday at the Supreme Court.

EFCC unconstitutionally established, says Agbakoba

In another report, Legit.ng reported that a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba, called on the National Assembly to convene a public hearing to consider constitutional issues surrounding the establishment of the EFCC.

Agbakoba said the EFCC was unconstitutionally established and an unlawful organisation.

Reacting, the EFCC strongly opposed efforts to scrap the agency, warning that this would cripple Nigeria’s fight against corruption.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng