Finance Investigation: Court Dismisses Anambra Govt’s Suit Challenging Powers Of EFCC…
Written by City Radio on May 11, 2023
A Federal High Court sitting in Awka, Anambra State, has dismissed a suit filed by the Anambra State Government challenging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s power to investigate its finances, describing it as factually and forensically lacking in merit.
In a statement by the EFCC on Wednesday, the court held that the Commission is well in the rights of its powers under the law to carry out such investigations.
The State government had approached the court presided over by Justice Nnamdi Dimgba to determine whether under the Federal System of Government, with the constitutional doctrine of Separation of Powers, “the appropriation, disbursement and or administration of funds belonging to a State Government is subject to investigation by the EFCC being an agency of the Federal Government”.
The suit was a precipitate response to series of letters of invitation by the Commission sent to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and the State Attorney- General seeking the release of officials of the state government to offer explanations in an alleged case of fraudulent misappropriation of funds in respect of data collection exercise for the administration of subsidy to smallholder farmers and alleged case of Abuse of Office and Misappropriation of Funds.
In his judgment, Justice Dimgba stated that the EFCC has constitutional powers to investigate any act of economic and financial crime in any part of the country, stressing that neither the authorities of a State’s House of Assembly nor Auditor- General of a State preclude the Commission from performing its mandate as contained in the Constitution.
The Judge further added that “EFCC is the coordinating agency for the enforcement of the provisions of any other law or regulation on economic and financial crimes, including the Criminal Code and Penal Code. The Commission has powers under Section 13(2) of the EFCC Act to prosecute offences so long as they are financial crimes.
CityRadio 89.7FM