EFCC shouldn't exist because it's not a branch of the police– Agbakoba

Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, stated on Thursday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) shouldn't have existed.

He claimed that the commission was currently acting illegally.

This was stated by Agbakoba at a news conference in Lagos.

He contends that because the EFCC is a National Assembly establishment, it lacks the authority to impede state government operations.

The senior lawyer for Nigeria claimed that only one police force was established for the country under the 1999 Constitution, and that the Anti-Graft Agency was unable to carry out its duties since it was not a division of the police.

He emphasized that the EFCC was still a Federal institution established by the national assembly and said that Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution split the powers of the government into two: federal and state.

“So the question will be, if the EFCC is created by the Federal Government can it then prosecute state offences?

“The Supreme Court in many of its decisions have held that federalism means two autonomous and independent governments and if that is correct, the EFCC does not have the right to go to the state and examine their accounts.

“Anybody can read section 46 of the EFCC Act and Section 36(12) of the 1999 Constitution. Section 36(12) states that all offences must be defined and when you now read Section 46, you ask yourself if it complies with Section 36(12) because it does not.

“So part of the prayers I will seek in court is that EFCC ought not to exist in the first place because it is not a branch of the police and that the job done by the EFCC is the same one being done by the Police Special Fraud Unit.

“My other prayer will be whether the national assembly can make laws for the federation and to what extent can the national assembly which is an arm of the Federal Government make laws authorising a federal agency to exercise powers as if it were a state agency.

“So all these contradictions should make the presidential candidates tell Nigerians what they are going to do about the constitution because it is defective,” Agbakoba stated.

Although he was one of the most ardent defenders of the rule of law and the battle against corruption, the human rights lawyer insisted that he was not opposing the commission, stating that the true problem was the security forces' disregard for the law.

Agbakoba, however, declared that he was willing to have a conversation with EFCC Chairman Abdulrasheed Bawa about the matter as a sign of his goodwill toward the anti-graft organization.

The former NBA president said: “I do not believe that the EFCC understands the law that set them up because as a lawyer myself, I was a bit confused, as I discovered that the 1999 constitution is structurally defective.

“I now understand why some people are saying that the country must be restructured. Whoever wrote this constitution designed it for Nigeria to fail because, on the one hand, it seems to authorise the EFCC to interfere in state’s affairs while on the other hand, it does not.”

Recall that in December, Agbakoba criticized the EFCC for its recent measures against the Kogi Government.

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