The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has denied planning to arrest, detain, or prosecute Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, after his tenure as governor.
This denial is contained in the EFCC’s counter-affidavit against a fundamental rights suit filed by a lawyer Darlington Ozurumba, against the EFCC, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the suit, the lawyer claims that a governor, “as a citizen of Nigeria, is entitled to the right to private and family life as a minimum guarantee encapsulated under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, before, during, and after the occupation of public office created by the Constitution.”
When the report became public last week, Lawal Pedro, SAN, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, disowned the lawyer, clarifying that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at no time, sued or briefed any legal practitioner to file a suit on his behalf concerning the above matter.
EFCC Denies Plans to Arrest Sanwo-Olu
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that in the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/773/2024, dated and filed on June 6, Ozurumba raised seven questions and sought 11 reliefs.
- The report said the Ozurumba argued that the plan to arrest him by the EFCC was unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
- In the anti-corruption agency’s counter-affidavit filed on October 31, 2024, Hadiza Afegbua, the Commission’s denied threatening, inviting, or taking any step to encroach on his right to freedom of movement, or violating his right to private and family life and personal liberty.
“I have read and understood the plaintiff’s affidavit in support of the originating summons, and I hereby state that the depositions in paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7, and even 8 are untrue and a calculated attempt to mislead the honorable court,” Afegbua said, adding that the commission is not investigating the governor and “had never invited him or threatened to arrest any member of his staff, domestic or otherwise”, according to NAN.
“I know as a fact that the defendant invites members of the public for interview, interrogation, or any engagement via written invitations, phone calls, or text messages from any of its officers, who shall introduce themselves by name, rank, designation, and section to enable the invitee to trace the officer easily.
“No officer of the defendant could have invited the plaintiff or his aides without furnishing them with such detailed particulars of themselves.
“Contrary to the depositions in paragraph 5 of the plaintiff’s affidavit, the defendant(EFCC) did not intimidate, harass, or threaten the plaintiff or subject him to any trauma,” she added, denying the suit filed by Ozurumba.
- The EFCC further stated that the development was mere conjecture and speculation, as there was no petition or intelligence gathered before the EFCC to warrant any action against Sanwo-Olu at the moment.
While the matter is set to come up for hearing on November 26, 2024, NAN reports that the suit may be withdrawn by Ozurumba on the next adjourned date.
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In his rebuttal, Pedro stated that it was disingenuous for the governor, who enjoys immunity as conferred by the Constitution and has almost three years remaining in office, to brief any lawyer on this kind of matter.
“To the best of my knowledge, and as my inquiries have confirmed, the EFCC is not investigating the governor and has never invited him or threatened to arrest any member of his staff, domestic or otherwise. We are currently investigating how the case came to be without our knowledge,” he said.
He added that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been exemplary in terms of service delivery and the prudent management of public resources.
“Therefore, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who is busy working assiduously to improve the living conditions of all Lagosians, has nothing to fear when he eventually leaves office at the end of his tenure in May 2027,” he added.
He also urged media organizations to be cautious about the kind of reports they entertain.