The Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has dismissed a suit filed by the Akwa Ibom State Government challenging the powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the state’s financial activities. The EFCC disclosed this in a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Tuesday, saying that Justice M.A.
Onyetenu dismissed the suit on 8 October after upholding a preliminary objection filed by the commission’s legal team. The state’s then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko, instituted the suit in 2017 after an EFCC investigation into allegations that state resources had been diverted from their intended purposes. The dismissal ends the federal court proceedings in the suit n the EFCC’s view.
Still, it does not amount to a substantive determination that triggered the investigation or a definitive ruling on the court’s jurisdiction over state finances. The commission said the judge upheld its objection that the suit was incompetent because a similar case instituted earlier at the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene remained pending when the federal action was commenced.
The EFCC’s counsel, Joshua Abolarin, argued that the existence of the earlier suit made the subsequent action at the Federal High Court procedurally defective. Justice Onyetenu upheld the objection and dismissed the suit in its entirety, according to the commission. The dispute dates back to 2016, when some Akwa Ibom residents petitioned the EFCC over the alleged diversion of state resources meant for public welfare and development.
The commission said it opened an investigation and invited some state government officials to be questioned. Rather than honour the invitations, the officials approached the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene through the state Attorney-General, challenging the commission’s actions.