The Oyo State Government has criticized the detention by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of the state’s Accountant-General, Alhaji Gafar Bello (EFCC).
According to Anaedoonline.ng, Bello and a yet-to-be-identified politician were detained by the anti-graft agency last week Friday for their alleged participation in N9 billion money laundering.
Bello was detained, according to reports, for stealing N9 billion from local government monies to support the state’s approaching elections in 2023.
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Wasiu Olatubosun, the state commissioner for information, culture, and tourism, condemned Bello’s detention as “illegal and reprehensible” in a statement released on Tuesday.
The EFCC’s continuous harassment and intimidation of state government personnel, according to the commissioner, is being challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction.
He said that agency authorities have been putting pressure on the state and its officials since last year to submit papers relating disbursements and expenditures of some monies, as well as a security vote that was duly passed by the state House of Assembly.
“The EFCC’s persistent harassment and intimidation of the Accountant General and other state government employees is entirely unlawful and reprehensible, and it is being challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction,” the statement adds.
“The EFCC and its officials have, since last year been mounting pressure on Oyo State and its officials to provide documents regarding disbursements and expenditure of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, Contingencies Fund and Security Vote lawfully approved and passed into Appropriation Law of Oyo State by the Oyo State House of Assembly. This is despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Nigeria has decided in a long line of cases that the EFCC lacks the powers to prosecute issues that are not corruption cases.
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“We would like to put it on record that by virtue of Section 128 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, unless and until the Oyo State House of Assembly reports or exposes any corruption, inefficiency or waste in the execution or administration of laws within its legislative competence and in the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated by it to the Executive Governor of Oyo State and Commissioner for Finance, Section 6 (h) of the EFCC Establishment Act 2004 (as amended) cannot be triggered.
“The Oyo State House of Assembly has not made any such reports and thus the actions so far by the EFCC and the EFCC Chairman are unconstitutional and ultra-vires.
“In line with this conviction, the Oyo State Government had approached the Federal High Court, in the Ibadan Judicial Division on February 8, 2022, for declaratory reliefs and to among other things, issue an order of perpetual injunction restraining the Defendants (1. Attorney General of the Federation; 2. Economic and Financial Crimes Commission; 3. President of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria and 4. The Chairman EFCC) their functionaries or agencies or whosoever from interfering with the activities of any government officials in Oyo State (i.e. any public officer or functionary or officer or servant of the government of Oyo State) in the exercise of powers purported to be conferred by or under the provisions of the EFCC Act, 2004 with relation to the expenditure and or spending of the Oyo State Government or security votes as vested in the Governor of Oyo State.
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“The EFCC had brazenly refused service of the processes at the Abuja Head Office for reasons unknown to the law but as of today, March 1, 2022, at the hearing in Ibadan, Hon Justice N. Agomoh directed the EFCC to accept service of the Oyo State Government originating processes and pending applications in the full glare of the Court. The Trial Judge also ordered that all forms of arrest and intimidation by the EFCC should cease. The case has been adjourned to March 9, 2022 for the hearing of all applications.
“The arrest of the Oyo State Accountant General on Friday, February 25, 2022, was a desperate and malicious attempt at thwarting a constitutional process that had already been instituted at the Federal High Court, Ibadan, with a hearing date of Monday, March 1, 2022.”
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