The Enugu State Government has withdrawn from a lawsuit filed by 16 state governments in the Supreme Court, challenging the authority of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and other anti-graft agencies over state governments when the states did not endorse their creation.
The 16 states initially involved in the lawsuit saw their number decrease on October 23, when three states—Ebonyi, Anambra, and Adamawa—announced their withdrawal. Despite these changes, the seven-member panel of justices at the Supreme Court reserved judgment on the case for a later date.
According to an application obtained by our correspondent, Enugu State’s Attorney General, Kingsley Udeh, filed for Enugu’s withdrawal from the suit on October 21. However, this application could not be addressed by the court on October 23, as it had not yet been received by the Supreme Court’s Registrar. It was later stamped as received on October 24, 2024.
When contacted, Enugu State Attorney General Kingsley Udeh declined to comment on the matter. Governor Peter Mbah’s Special Adviser on Mainstream Media, Dan Nwomeh, directed all inquiries to the Attorney General.
The suit, marked SC/CV/178/2023, includes an application titled, “NOTICE OF 6TH DEFENDANT’S (ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ENUGU STATE) WITHDRAWAL FROM THIS SUIT BROUGHT UNDER ORDER 4 RULE 1 OF THE RULES OF THIS COURT AND UNDER THE INHERENT JURISDICTION OF THIS COURT.” The notice states, “Take Notice that the 6th Plaintiff (Attorney General of Enugu State) intends and doth hereby withdraws his suit against the defendant (Attorney General of Federation) in the above-mentioned suit.”
Dated October 21, 2024, the application was signed by Attorney General Dr. Kingsley T. Udeh, with I. I. Eze, Esq. (Director), and S. U. Madu (Deputy Director) of the Ministry of Justice, Enugu.
It is worth noting that the Kogi State Government initially filed the case against the EFCC in 2023, with 15 other states, including Enugu, later joining the suit. The case has attracted significant criticism from civil society organizations.