Journalists commend Enugu for pulling out of EFCC legality suit
A non-governmental organisation, Journalists Against Corruption, has commended the Enugu State Government for withdrawing from the suit which challenged the legality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other federal anti-corruption agencies.
In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its Programme Coordinator, Kehinde Osifisan, the group described the decision of the state government as “timely and a step in the right detection,” while urging other state governments who are still in court to back out, noting that “it is not too late.”
Enugu State had on October 24, 2024, withdrawn from the suit filed by some states in the federation, contesting the laws that established the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, as well as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit guidelines, which is before the Supreme Court.
The suit against the EFCC was initially filed by the Kogi State Government in 2023, while 18 other states later joined.
The Enugu State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Kingsley Udeh, in an application addressed to the Supreme Court, disclosed the decision of the state to discontinue being a participant in the suit.
The Benue State Governor, Rev Fr Hyacinth Alia, suspended the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice and Public Order, Fidelis Mnyim, for joining the suit without the approval of the governor.
With the latest development, Enugu became the sixth state to withdraw from the controversial suit, after Anambra, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Benue, and Jigawa.
With the withdrawal of six states, only 13 states are left to pursue the matter, as parties await the date of judgement from the Supreme Court.
However, JAC in the statement said it was not too late for the other litigating states to back out.
The statement read partly, “Even if you look at the numbers, 13 states are in court as against 36 states and FCT, it is clear that Kogi and the collaborating states against EFCC are in the minority.
“We align with the Ogun State government, which has posited rightly that the issue of legality or constitutionality of the EFCC has been long resolved by the Supreme Court and that there are no new facts or developments to revisit the issue.”
