The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved judgement in the suit seeking to declare operations of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) illegal.
A seven-member panel of justices, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, adjourned for ruling after all parties in the suit identified their processes filed in the suit.
Earlier, the Anambra State Government, through the state Attorney-General, Prof. Sylvia Ifemeje, announced its decision to withdraw from the suit.
Similarly, Ebonyi and Adamawa states, through their respective AGFs, also applied to withdraw from the suit and asked the court to strike out their names from the suit.
Meanwhile, the Attorney-Generals of Osun, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, applied for consolidation in the suit, bringing the number of states remaining to 17.
The states include Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Oyo, Benue, Plateau, Cross-River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Taraba and Imo.
Earlier, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister Of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, craved the indulgence of the court to allow his reply on point of law to be deemed filed.
The panel granted his request to recognise his reply on point of law.
Having listened to all parties, the apex court reserved judgement to a date to be communicated to the parties.
Kogi and 18 other state governments in a suit marked; SC/178/2023, contested the constitutionality of the laws that established the anti-graft agency.
The state governments, in their suit, argued that the Supreme Court, in Dr Joseph Nwobike Vs Federal Republic of Nigeria, held that it was a United Nations Convention against corruption that was reduced into the EFCC Establishment Act and that in enacting the law in 2004, the provision of Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, was not followed.
They argued that in bringing a convention into Nigerian law, the provision of Section 12 must be complied with.
According to the plaintiffs, the provision of the Constitution necessitated the majority of the states’ houses of assembly agreeing to bring the convention in before passing the EFCC Act and others, which was allegedly never done.
The argument of the states in their present suit, which had reportedly been corroborated by the Supreme Court in the previous case mentioned, is that the law, as enacted, could not be applied to states that never approved of it, in accordance with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution.
Hence, they argued that any institution so formed should be regarded as an illegal institution.
The suit was initiated by the Kogi State government and joined by Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Oyo, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba, Ebonyi and Imo states government.
Among other things, they prayed the Supreme Court for: “A declaration that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) or any agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria cannot investigate, requisition documents, invite and or arrest anyone with respect to offences arising from or touching on the administration and management of funds belonging to Kogi state of Nigeria or any Local Government Area of Kogi State.
“A declaration that the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) or any agency of the Federal Government, lacks the power to issue any directive, guideline, advisory or any instrument howsoever called for the administration and management of funds belonging to Kogi State of Nigeria or any Local Government Area of Kogi state.”