The Federal High Court sitting in Asaba, Delta State, has upheld the powers of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and that of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to investigate and prosecute officials of the Delta State Government who allegedly engage in corrupt acts.
Justice Folasade Olubanjo held that the sister organisations whose core mandates are the same, do not violate the principle of federalism and separation of powers embodied in the constitution.
The court gave the judgment in the suit filed by the Attorney General of Delta State, Ekemejero Ohwovoriole, challenging the powers of the two anti-corruption agencies, to investigate the state government’s finances and invite Delta State officials for interviews in the course of investigations.
The state government had asked the court to among other things, declare that by the provisions of Sections 120, 121, 122, 123 & 125 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), no authority or person other than the state government, the state house of assembly, and the auditor-general of the state, has the constitutional mandate to exercise power or control over the funds standing to the credit of Delta State in the Consolidated Revenue Fund, or any other state public funds.
The state also asked the court to declare that the provisions of Section 128 of the constitution empower only the state house of assembly to the exclusion of the defendants, to conduct or direct investigation into the disbursement of public funds to expose corruption, inefficiency or waste of public funds.
The state also insisted that by Section 125 of the constitution, only the Auditor-General of Delta State has the power to receive financial statements and annual accounts from the state’s accountant-general.
In her judgment, Justice Olubanjo disagreed with the plaintiff, and held that Nigeria practices cooperative federalism; and as such the fight against corruption is a function of both the states and the federal government.
The judge also noted that the issues before the court had been settled in a plethora of appellate decisions, among which is the Supreme Court judgment in AG Ondo State vs AG Federation & 36 others.
In accordance with her review of the evidence presented, the presiding judge ultimately dismissed the suit on grounds of lacking merit.
This case exemplifies the crucial role of the judiciary in upholding the integrity of the legal system by impartially adjudicating disputes based on the merits of the arguments presented before the court.
