The Ogun State government has clarified its position regarding its involvement in a case that some media reports have inaccurately associated with challenging the constitutionality of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Speaking on behalf of the state, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Oluwasina Ogungbade (SAN), stressed that Ogun State is not involved in any legal action questioning the EFCC’s legitimacy.
Instead, Ogungbade highlighted that certain reports are misrepresenting the state’s legal intentions, prompting the government to issue multiple clarifications.
In a statement issued on Monday, Ogungbade expressed his surprise at some media outlets’ continued reporting that incorrectly includes Ogun State in a lawsuit challenging the EFCC’s authority.
He said “We don’t have a suit against EFCC. We never filed any action against EFCC challenging its constitutionality.
“We already issued a statement to that effect last week clarifying that we never had any suit attacking the EFCC’s constitutionality and that we did not join the suit filed at the Supreme Court by some other states in that regard.
“We respect the decision of states that have filed such a challenge as it is their right to approach the court. That is allowed in a democracy and a federation.
“But the papers we have filed are public documents open to scrutiny and so, I am surprised that some media outlets are still running reports that include and mention Ogun State as one of the states challenging the EFCC’s existence when that is not the case.
“I hope that such outlets will be guided by this clarification as well as our statement from last week, to put out the correct position.”
The government of Ogun State previously issued a rebuttal through the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Kayode Akinmade.
The statement noted that the legality of the EFCC and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has already been decided by the Supreme Court, and Ogun State considers discussions on these matters settled.
Furthermore, the state asserted that it has no basis to reopen any legal questions regarding the EFCC’s constitutionality, expressing full support for the federal government’s law and order objectives.
Ogungbade then provided further insight into the actual legal action Ogun State has taken. He explained that the case Ogun State filed, identified as SC/CV/912/2024, does not involve the EFCC’s constitutionality.
He said: “The case Ogun State has filed (SC/CV/912/2024) does not attack the constitutionality of the EFCC.
“The suit seeks to invalidate the NFIU Guidelines and Advisory issued in January 2023, which interfere with the economic and governance interests of Ogun State and its local governments.
“That’s what we filed. We are not challenging the constitutionality of the EFCC in this case,” Ogungbade said.
