You have no business probing us, Rivers tells EFCC

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been told to stay away from Rivers State as it has no constitutional powers to look into the books of the state.

This is contained in the letter the Attorney General of the state and Commissioner of Justice, Mr Emma Aguma, wrote to the Chief Justice of the Federation, telling him that there were judgements barring the commission from investigating the state.

Aguma who also described as false a newspaper report that a staff of the state government withdrew N11 billion for the state said, “I write as the Chief Law Officer of Rivers State and at the instruction of the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike, and the Government of Rivers State. My instruction and direction is to state as follows.

“The totality of the allegations made in the said publication is untrue and unfounded. It is a salacious publication aimed at both scintillating the reading public and scandalizing the Government of Rivers State by the usual methods of trial on the pages of newspapers devoid of verifiable facts.

“The wild allegations contained in the said publication would be appropriately addressed and their falsity shown when they are raised by due process of law at the appropriate forum.

Read also: Court issues order to EFCC over freezing of Fayose’s account

“There are two subsisting judgments of the High Court of Rivers State and the Federal High Court that bar the EFCC from investigating the finances of Rivers State. The first of these judgments is the judgment of the High Court of Rivers State in suit Number PHC/114/2007: Attorney General of Rivers State Vs the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly and 36 others.

“The judgment was delivered by Justice P. Agumagu on February 16, 2007. This judgment enunciated the following principles of law which till date have not been set-aside by the EFCC in any appellate court.”

The principles of law according to him were: “By the combined effects of section 125 subsections (2), (5) and (6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (the 1999 Constitution), it is the House of Assembly of a state, Rivers State inclusive, that has the final say on matters pertaining to the funds of the state as laid before it by the Auditor-General’s Audit Report of all public accounts and the Accountant-General’s financial statements and published annual accounts.”

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