The Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by 16 states challenging the constitutionality of the Acts establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
Delivering the lead judgment on Wednesday, Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, who led a seven-member panel, ruled that the plaintiffs’ case lacked merit.
“The EFCC Act, which is not a treaty but a convention, does not require the ratification of the houses of assembly,” Justice Abba-Aji stated, rejecting the argument that the EFCC and similar bodies were unlawful.
The court emphasized that the National Assembly acted within its powers in establishing the anti-corruption agencies and dismissed the states’ claims of unconstitutionality.
The lawsuit, originally filed by the attorneys general of Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross River, and Niger states, sought to dissolve the agencies.
However, some states, including Imo, Bauchi, and Osun, later joined as co-plaintiffs, while others like Anambra, Ebonyi, and Adamawa withdrew their claims.
The court ruled that while it had jurisdiction to hear the case, the plaintiffs had failed to provide sufficient grounds to challenge the legality of the agencies.
“The states were completely wrong in their assertion that the EFCC is an illegal and unlawful body,” Justice Abba-Aji added.
This decision reaffirms the authority of the EFCC, ICPC, and NFIU as pivotal agencies in Nigeria’s anti-corruption framework.
