16082018 - Uproar as EFCC seeks minutes of Benue's security meetings

Vanguard, THURSDAY AUGUST 16, 2018—41
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Uproar as EFCC seeks minutes of
Benue's security meetings
Continues from page 5
Uwujaren, said there was
nothing strange in asking
for records of the state’s
security council meetings
which allegedly
authorised withdrawal of
over N23 billion for
security purposes.
He noted that the antigraft
agency was
investigating the accounts
of Benue State
government, having
noticed consistent
massive withdrawals,
which the agency
suspected were for money
laundering.
Uwujaren declined to
give further details,
pointing out that
investigators have the
right to demand for any
document that could help
them in their
investigation or prove
NAIRA WATCH
their suspicion of money
laundering to the
contrary.
Lawyers react
Reacting to the
development, Mr. Lawal
Pedro, SAN, said asking
the state government to
release the details of its
security meetings was not
the core duties of the
EFCC.
He said: "That is the
work of other security
agencies that are in
charge of the general
security of Nigeria. If in
the process of carrying out
their jobs, the security
agencies now discover
any financial crime, that
is the only situation that
will make them to call for
investigation of any crime
committed.
‘’The EFCC certainly
does not have veto power
to ask a state government
to release or give details
Naira appreciates to
N362.25 /$ in I&E window
By Elizabeth Adegbesan
THE, Naira, yesterday depreciated to N362.25
in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window
even as the volume of dollars traded declined by 13
percent.
Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative
exchange rate for the window dropped to N362.25
per dollar yesterday from N362.30 per dollar on
Tuesday, indicating five kobo depreciation of the
naira.
However, the volume of dollars (turnover) traded
in the window yesterday dropped by 13 percent to
$128.52 million from $147.80 million traded on
Tuesday.
On the other hand, the naira yesterday was stable
at N359 per dollar in the parallel market.
of its security meetings. It
is ultra vires the power of
the EFCC, going by the
law that established the
commission.
"However, if the
appropriate federal
government security
agency decides to
investigate the state and
discovers that there had
been an economic crime
committed by any official
of the state, only then can
the EFCC come in to
investigate such financial
crime that was committed.
‘’The EFCC certainly
doesn’t have a general
veto power to make such
request to any state
government in the
country. I believe that the
police should be in a
better position to make
such request and
certainly not the EFCC.
In his reaction, another
legal practitioner, Chuma
Otteh, said: “The EFCC,
by virtue of the law
establishing it, has
mandate and powers to
investigate criminal
matters relating to
economic and financial
crimes.
‘’Except, the body is
requesting for such
information relating to
economic issue, I find it
very strange for it to ask
FEC to give information
about security meeting. In
effect, such request has
no basis, so far it is issue
bordering on security.
Also, EFCC as an arm of
government can only rely
on information given by
the government.”
EFCC has the right
— SERAP
However, Executive
Director of Social
Economic Rights and
Accountability Project,
SERAP, Tokunbo
Mumuni, said: “The
government has the
responsibility to supply
such information and
hand over whatever it
needs to help it dispense
its constitutional duties.
“So, there is nothing
wrong for the body to
request for such
information, especially if
the security matters
deliberated have corrupt
dealings. It is entitled to
ask for it and the
government should
supply it for effective
investigation.”
It's ultra vires, more
lawyers react
Another lawyer, Dr
Allen Richard, said: “The
EFCC mandate is to deal
with issue of corruption
and any economic
infractions. It can
investigate and prosecute
anything bordering on
economic sabotage.
“However, if you said it
is on security matter,
anything done by the body
outside economic and
financial crimes is ultra
vires and it becomes
illegal.
“To this end, its request
and demand is irrelevant.
It does not need it and it
doesn’t possess such
powers.”
Second Vice President,
Nigerian Bar Association,
Monday Ubani, said:
“That is a strange request.
Why should the EFCC be
asking a state government
to release the details of
their security meeting? I
have read through the
EFCC Act and I have not
seen any portion to
empower the agency to
make such request.
"Another question that
one must ask is why is the
EFCC singling out just
Benue State? There is
something certainly
suspicious about that
request."
Reacting in a similar
vein, another legal
practitioner, Destiny
Takon, said: "Everybody
knows that the power of
the EFCC is limited to
economic crime. The
EFCC lacks the
competence to ask an arm
of government to make
disclosure of its security
meeting.
“As a matter of fact, the
governor of Benue State
is the chief security officer
of the state and can hold
any meeting concerning
the affairs of the state,
especially in light of the
senseless killing in the
state.
"The EFCC is certainly
overshooting its powers
and in simple terms, what
it is doing amounts to
witch-hunting which has
been known to be the
character of this
government.
"The agenda clearly
appears to be a sinister
motive inquiry into any
move that Benue State
government is making to
protect the people of the
state. That simply is the
only explanation for this."
Also Senior Advocates of
Nigeria, SANs, yesterday,
maintained that the
Economic and Financial
Crimes Commission,
EFCC, was bereft of the
constitutional powers to
compel officials of
Benue State Government
to furnish it with details
of all security meetings
that have been held in the
state since inception of
Governor Samuel Ortom’s
administration.
The senior lawyers, in
separate interviews with
Vanguard, further
contended that under the
prevailing situation, the
anti-graft agency, could
not also investigate how
state governments utilize
their security votes.
Among those that
expressed legal opinion
included a professor of
law, Mr. Ernest Ojukwu,
SAN, as well as vocal
constitutional lawyer,
Chief Mike Ozehkome,
SAN.
Both senior lawyers
made reference to
decided case laws which
they said barred the
EFCC from supervising
or investigating issues
bordering on security
expenditure of states.
They both insisted that
no state could be legally
compelled to submit such
report to the EFCC.
Prof. Ojukwu, SAN,
said: “We have had some
decided cases on this
matter, but I wouldn’t
know if it is the account
that they are looking into
or they are investigating
a suspected crime.
“There are subsisting
decisions that, while a
serving Governor has
immunity against
prosecution, he can be
investigated. However, as
a defendant in a criminal
investigation, it should be
your decision to submit or
not submit information to
the agency, which is like
writing a statement. The
constitution permits you
not to say anything. So it
is not a mandatory thing
that Benue State
government must comply.
“It is left for the state
government to decide on
whether it will comply or
not. In law and under the
constitution, a defendant
in a criminal investigation
has a right not to say
anything. It is for the
agency to prove what it
wants.”
According to
Ozehkome, SAN: “This
requisition is nothing but
a vile political instrument
to muscle the governor
because he refused not to
defect from the APC after
the Presidency and the
APC government had
begged him not to
decamp. The state
governor is the Chief
Security Officer under
Section 215 of the 1999
Constitution and security
votes across Nigeria have
never been known to be
accounted for or to be
disclosed by any of the
governors since 1999
when we started this
journey in a fresh
d e m o c r a t i c
experimentation.
“The governor cannot
be required to disclose
security matters of the
state, as if Benue State
was a parastatal of the
Federal Government. We
operate a federal system
of government where the
Federal Government at
the centre has no
sovereignty or imperial
control over state
governments as if they
were an appendage.
“Various decisions by
the courts affirmed that
EFCC cannot investigate
state accounts. One of
them is the case I won
for the Ekiti State
Government earlier in
the year, where the
Federal High Court
sitting at Ado-Ekiti
declared that under
Sections 6,7,28, 32 and 34
of the EFCC
Establishment Act of 2004,
it has no power to act as a
Monitor General or as a
Senior Prefect to oversee
the account of state
governments or to ask
state officials to produce
accounts of Ekiti State
Government.