The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has warned against obstructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from performing its lawful duty.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday, Fagbemi said the bizarre drama confronting the EFCC in the course of its efforts to perform its statutory duty has come to his notice as a matter of very grave concern.
He said the anti-graft agency has the power, by law, to invite any person of interest to interact with them in the course of their investigation into any matter regardless of status.
He said, “The least that we can all do when invited is not to put any obstruction in the way of the EFCC but to honorably answer their invitation.
“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject to protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is, to say the least, insufferably disquieting,” the AGF added and noted that a flight from the law does not resolve issues at stake but only exacerbates.
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According to the AGF in the statement, “I state unequivocally that I stand for the rule of law and will promptly call EFCC and indeed any other agency to order when there is an indication of any transgression of the fundamental rights of any Nigerian by any of the agencies, but I also tenaciously hold the view that institutions of State should be allowed to function effectively and efficiently.
“Nigeria has a vibrant judicial system that is capable of protecting everyone who follows the rule of law in seeking protection.
“I, therefore, encourage anyone who has been invited by the EFCC or any other agency to immediately toe the path of decency and civility by honoring such an invitation instead of embarking on a temporizing self-help and escapism that can only put our country in a bad light before the rest of the world”.
The AGF’s statement followed the face-off between operatives of the EFCC and the security details attached to the governor of Kogi state, Alhaji Usman Ododo, when the Commission attempted to execute the Warrant of Arrest lawfully obtained against the immediate past governor of the state, Alhaji Yahaya Bello at his Zone 4, Abuja on Wednesday.
The security cordon around the former governor’s residence in Abuja was breached by the current Governor of Kogi State, who ensured that Bello was spirited away in his official vehicle.