Supreme Court to hear suit by 16 governors contesting law establishing EFCC

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, scheduled October 22 for hearing of a lawsuit brought by 16 state governments to contest the constitutionality of the legislation which established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and two other entities.

The seven-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, scheduled the date for the proceedings after other states joined the suit as co-plaintiffs in the original lawsuit filed by the Kogi State Government through its Attorney General.

Kogi State Attorney-General Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN), notified the court that some states had expressed interest in consolidating the case by joining as co-plaintiffs.

Some of the states in the lawsuit, referenced as SC/CV/178/2023, are Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nassarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River, and Niger.

Supported by a previous Supreme Court ruling, they emphasized that the law, as enacted, cannot be enforced in states that did not give their consent, in line with the stipulations of the constitution.

The plaintiffs contended that in the case of Dr. Joseph Nwobike vs. Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Supreme Court determined that a United Nations Convention against corruption was incorporated into the EFCC Establishment Act. They argued that when this law was enacted in 2004, the provisions outlined in Section 12 of the amended 1999 Constitution were not adhered to.

They argued that the Constitution requires a majority of the state Houses of Assembly to consent to convene before enacting the EFCC Act and similar legislation, a step that was allegedly never taken.

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