The case brought by 16 state governments contesting the legitimacy of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will be heard by the Supreme Court on October 22.
After the states joined as co-plaintiffs and permission was obtained for the matter to be consolidated in the original lawsuit brought by the Kogi State government through its Attorney General, a seven-member panel of Justices, presided over by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, scheduled a hearing for October 22 on Tuesday.
The 15 other states joined in the suit, marked: SC/CV/178/2023, are Ondo, Edo, Oyo, Ogun, Nassarawa, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Plateau, Cross-River and Niger.
The 16 states are contending that the Constitution is supreme and that any law that is inconsistent with it is a nullity.
The plaintiffs argued that the EFCC Establishment Act was derived from the United Nations Convention against Corruption, as the Supreme Court had previously held in cases of this nature. They argue that in enacting the EFCC Act in 2004, the legislature did not comply with the provision of Section 12 of the Constitution.
The states insist that Section 12 of the Constitution needed to be complied with before a convention could be made a Nigerian law.
The section reads: “(1) No treaty between the Federation and any other country shall have the force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly.
“(2) The National Assembly may make laws for the Federation or any part thereof with respect to matters not included in the Exclusive Legislative List for the purpose of implementing a treaty.
“(3) A bill for an Act of the National Assembly passed pursuant to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section shall not be presented to the President for assent, and shall not be enacted unless it is ratified by a majority of all the House of Assembly in the Federation.”
The plaintiffs contend that the majority of the state Houses of Assembly must first agree that the convention be adopted before the EFCC Act could be validly enacted.
Kogi’s counsel, Abdulwahab Mohammed (SAN), said some states indicated interest in a merger, while others sought to be joined as co-plaintiffs.
“It is for this honourable court to tell us how to proceed, My Lords. Out of about 15 states, about 13 have indicated interest in being co-plaintiffs, and only two want consolidation.
“To make the task of the court easier, those who want to be joined as co-plaintiffs should be joined and abide by the processes already filed, and those who sought consolidation should be asked to file within seven days,” Mohammed said.
After the lawyers’ submissions, Justice Abba-Aji granted their prayers and adjourned the matter till October 22 for a hearing.
