EFCC, ICPC have come to stay- Falana
Amid the controversial calls to scrap the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said that the anti-graft agency and other such institutions in the country have come to stay.
Falana, speaking on Channels TV on Sunday, said rather than challenging the legality of EFCC, what should be demanded are measures to ensure that the body is not under the government’s control.
“For me, the ICPC and the EFCC like the Code of Conduct Tribunal have come to stay. What we should be demanding are measures to make these institutions autonomous, not under the control of any government,” Falana said on the programme.
“And the Supreme Court has maintained rather repeatedly concerning the EFCC and EFCC; that these are common, they shouldn’t be under the control of the Federal Government.
“They are common agencies to fight economic crimes in our country, to fight financial crimes in our country, to fight corruption in our country.”
The Senior Advocate insisted that the EFCC and ICPC were both established in pursuance of the duty imposed on the Nigerian state under Section 15, Sub-Section 5 of the Constitution.
It would be recalled that sixteen state governors had filed a suit challenging the legality of the laws establishing the EFCC.
The apex court fixed October 22 to hear a suit.