An elder statesman and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Robert Clarke has taken a swipe at State Governors kicking for the scrapping of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Clarke stated that only “jittery” Governors and their predecessors are challenging the legality of the anti-corruption agency.
He, therefore, stated that these Governors are not treading the correct grounds.
Clarke warned that these Governors and their predecessors “cannot challenge the Federal Government for implementing an existing law.
“They cannot challenge the police or any other agency of government (EFCC) for executing an existing law.”
The elder stateman made this disclosure while answering questions as a guest on a national television programme on Wednesday.
Recall that sixteen States in Nigeria have dragged the EFCC and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to the Supreme Court. They are contesting the constitutionality of the laws establishing the two agencies.
The suit, which was instituted by the Kogi State Government, has other 15 States, which asked to be joined in the suit.
A seven-man panel of justices led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji has fixed October 22, 2024, to hear the suit.
But reacting to the law suit, Clarke said the legitimacy or otherwise of the laws that created the two agencies can be challenged by the governors.
“They have a legal right as Governors to bring before the Supreme Court an action that challenges a law that is repugnant to the Constitution.
“The creation of the law is the prerequisite of the legislators. If you look at the antecedents of the operations of these laws, many of the very notorious (cases). I will not use the word notorious derogatorily, have been involving sitting Governors and Governors that are out of office. Therefore, they have every right to be jittery that this matter is mainly created for the Governors’ bubbles. But I do not see to that point.
“If there is anything in that law that runs against the Constitution, they should let us know. But if there is no law today that says the Federal Government cannot pass a law relating to criminal acts of governors during their period of executive work, then I doubt whether they are treading on the correct grounds.
“They cannot challenge the Federal Government for implementing an existing law. They cannot challenge the police or any other agency of government that is executing an existing law. This law they are trying to challenge is a law that was created at the start of our laws as of today. If they want to challenge and if there is reasonable ground for them to say that the Federal Government has no power to be the executor of this law, then the court will decide.”
Recall that the EFCC is currently prosecuting the immediate-past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello over alleged N80.2bn money laundering. The incumbent Governor, Usman Ododo, has been accused of shielding his predecessor from arrest by the anti-graft agency.
Clarke, however, warned that the judiciary must be very careful about conflicting court judgments.
“It is very unfortunate. I have discovered that the question of the interpretation of electoral matters is always on television. Being judged by one court in Sokoto against an act in Shagamu and all these things.
“If we are not careful in Nigeria today, we will turn our courts into Kangaroo courts. This is because if courts of coordinate jurisdiction give judgments at variance with each other, and the superior court gives another judgment and we make all these issues on television. Whereby the ordinary man or woman does not even know what the courts are saying. We are treading on very dangerous grounds. We have to be very careful.”
source: The Nation
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