List Of 16 States That Want Supreme Court To Declare EFCC Illegal, Curb Its Powers

The states joining the case, marked SC/CV/178/2023, include Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross River, and Niger.

The plaintiffs argue that the Nigerian Constitution is the supreme law, and any law that contradicts it should be deemed null and void.

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They cite a prior Supreme Court ruling in Joseph Nwobike v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, which found that the EFCC Establishment Act was derived from a UN Convention against corruption.

The plaintiffs claim that when the law was enacted in 2004, the required provisions of Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) were not followed.

According to them, Section 12 stipulates that for any international convention to be incorporated into Nigerian law, the majority of state Houses of Assembly must agree, which they argue did not happen in the case of the EFCC Act and similar laws.

As a result, the states contend that the EFCC law cannot apply to those that did not approve it, making any institution formed under such laws unlawful.

When the case was called on Tuesday, the states’ legal representatives presented their arguments. Most sought to be included as co-plaintiffs, while two states requested the consolidation of the case.

Kogi’s Attorney General’s counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed, informed the court that several states had expressed interest in either consolidation or joining as co-plaintiffs.