Lagos State Attorney General (AG) and Commissioner for Justice, Lawal Pedro, SAN, has explained why the state did not join 19 other states in challenging the legitimacy of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Supreme Court.
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While the 19 states had filed a case questioning the EFCC’s legal foundation, Lagos remained absent from the coalition, with the Supreme Court reserving judgment on the matter.
Speaking to reporters during the Strategic Stakeholders meeting of the Lagos Ministry of Justice in Ikeja, Pedro revealed that Lagos had refrained from joining the case due to its own pending legal dispute involving anti-corruption efforts.
According to Pedro, Lagos had already enacted a law establishing the Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Agency to tackle corruption within the state.
However, he said the EFCC and the Federal Attorney General had challenged the validity of that law at the Supreme Court.
Pedro further explained that joining the case against the EFCC alongside the other states would have been considered an abuse of court process since Lagos was already engaged in its own legal battle.
While acknowledging the federal government’s power to address corruption, he pointed out that this authority is limited when it comes to state offences.
“Lagos State has its own anti-corruption law, and we recognize the federal government’s role in combating corruption,” Pedro stated.
“But when it concerns state laws and state offences, the Attorney General of the state has the prosecutorial power. Any prosecution of state offences by federal agencies, including the EFCC, is carried out on behalf of the State AG, who has the authority under the constitution to take over or discontinue such cases,” he added.
Pedro dismissed any suggestion that Lagos’ absence from the case had political motivations, clarifying that the state was waiting for the Supreme Court to set a hearing date for its own pending case.
He also emphasised the strong collaboration between Lagos and the EFCC, noting that the prosecution of state offences by federal agencies in Lagos was being done with the AG’s authorization.
“We are awaiting the Supreme Court’s decision on our case so the matter can be resolved,” Pedro said.
“There is no political motive behind Lagos’ decision not to join the suit; we simply have a separate, pending legal action,” he stated.
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