In the past few weeks, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been involved in a face-off with the Rivers State government over its intention to commence a probe into the alleged over-the-counter withdrawal of N117 billion by the government in the last three years. EFCC operatives had told a national daily that “In one fell swoop and precisely on June 8, 2015, a total of 45 different cheques in the amount of N10 million each, amounting to N450 million, were issued and cashed over the counter in the name of one person. The following day, 50 different cheques amounting to N500 million were issued in the name of another person and withdrawn over the counter of the same bank in Port Harcourt and we believe strongly that this money was laundered.” The anti-graft agency thus decided to summon four key accounting staff members in the Rivers State Government House for interrogation over the discovery.
ALSO READ: YCE’s Olajide weeps at son’s declaration for Ekiti Assembly seat
However, the Rivers State government declared that no official of its would appear before the EFCC, as the allegation was politically motivated. It cited a subsisting perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court restraining the agency from dabbling into the financial operations of the state government. Speaking through his Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, Governor Nyesom Wike said: “We are not afraid of their probe and they have no power to probe us. No government official will appear before the EFCC until they set aside the court judgment the Rivers State government obtained against them. They filed for leave to appeal the judgment at the Court of Appeal. Until they set aside the judgment, we will not come. We are aware of their tricks. They should not bother engaging in media trial because it will not work. This is mere political witch-hunt. We stand on the rule of law.”
Wike’s postulation would appear to be a logical progression from his position when the anti-graft agency freezed the accounts of both Benue and Akwa Ibom state governments. He had alleged at the time that the EFCC’s (and the Federal Government’s) ultimate target was Rivers State. Given the brickbats between the Federal Government and the opposition state governments, the provisions of the country’s constitution and the fact that Nigeria is and remains a federation, Governor Wike’s qualms would seem to be justified. In our previous editorials, we affirmed that there is a subsisting judgment by a Federal High Court sitting in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, to the effect that the EFCC lacks the power to probe state finances without a report of an indictment by their Houses of Assembly. According to the judgment delivered by Justice Taiwo O. Taiwo in the suit filed by the Ekiti State government against the EFCC, state financial institutions would be breaching the law if they otherwise submitted themselves to, released or disclosed to any person, body or agency, including the EFCC and Inspector General of Police, information on their activities. The judgment read in part: “It is the Auditor General of the state that has the power to conduct checks on all government corporations and to submit his report to the Assembly. Nobody, including the court, can read other meaning into the clear provisions of the constitution. Yes, the first defendant (EFCC) can investigate any person or corporate organisation; what it can’t do is to usurp the powers of the Assembly.”
Since this judgment has not been set aside by a higher court, it remains the law. It is important to realise, however, that it affirmed the powers of the EFCC to probe anybody or corporate institution. In other words, the EFCC would be breaching no law by probing the finances of a state, only that it must follow the procedures outlined in the constitution, namely carrying the state House of Assembly along, in doing so. If indeed the Rivers State government laundered N117 billion, not just EFCC but every right-thinking citizen ought to be concerned. In this regard, the EFCC’s concern cannot be faulted. What it ought to do would be to avail the State House of Assembly of its findings and concern for further scrutiny and action.
But the anti-graft agency erred in seeking to probe the state’s finances without the mediation of the House of Assembly. If the state government had indeed committed a crime, it is against the people of Rivers State and a federal agency cannot, under any guise, bypass the legislature whose constitutional powers of oversight cannot be impeached by the Federal Government under whose wings it operates. Truth be told, the EFCC’s antecedents have not helped its cause. It must therefore learn to conduct its operations in accordance with the laws of the land and avoid giving the impression that it is a tool for political witch-hunt. It must probe allegations diligently, fairly and without regard to political affiliation. It can visit instead of asking for visits all the time. In any case, EFCC is only empowered to carry out investigations which would be no more than seeking relevant information on any issue of interest and investigation cannot be the same thing as conviction. Thus, the agency should stop giving the impression that anybody it is investigating is already a criminal. That done, it would have earned the trust of the populace, which would help in deepening the country’s democracy.
On the other hand, Governor Wike’s position that the EFCC lacks any power to investigate Rivers State’s finances is without basis. State governments must refrain from taking hard-line positions on their finances. They must realise that their activities are subject to investigation, both by state and federal institutions under the circumstances allowed by law. In this regard, we urge the state Houses of Assembly to do their jobs diligently and not aid the executive in committing crimes against the people that they represent.