Federal High Court Approves Lawsuits Aimed at Sacking New EFCC Chairman, Olukoyede

The Federal High Court has granted permission for two distinct lawsuits aimed at removing the recently appointed chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Olanipekun Olukoyede.

The legal proceedings have been initiated by two legal practitioners, Mr. Stanley Okawara and Mr. Maxwell Opara.

The first lawsuit, identified as FHC/KN/CS/280/202, was brought before the court in Kano State, while the second, marked as FHC/ABJ/CS/1410/2023, is currently pending in the Abuja Division.

Justice Abdullahi Liman of the Kano court has scheduled October 30 to hear a motion on notice seeking to restrain Olukoyede from performing his duties as EFCC chairman or receiving a salary, given that his appointment was confirmed by the Senate on October 12. This restraining order will be in place pending the resolution of the suit.

The plaintiff, represented by Mr. Jideobi Johnmary, had initially filed an ex-parte application for an interim injunction against Olukoyede. However, Justice Liman instructed the plaintiff to notify all the defendants involved in the case.

The defendants named in the matter include President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and the EFCC. Furthermore, the court ordered the plaintiff to include the EFCC chairman, Olukoyede, and the Commission’s Secretary, Muhammad Hammajoda, as the 4th and 5th defendants, respectively.

Justice Liman granted the plaintiff permission to serve President Tinubu by delivering a copy of the court process to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, SAN. The court also allowed for substituted service of the lawsuit on the Senate President through the Senate’s clerk.

Additionally, the court reduced the time for all the defendants to enter their appearances and file their respective documents to 15 days.

The central questions in the case revolve around whether President Tinubu and Senate President Akpabio have the constitutional authority to appoint or ratify an EFCC chairman who is not a serving or retired member of any government security or law enforcement agency with a rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police or equivalent.

The plaintiff seeks an order to restrain anyone appointed by President Tinubu from assuming the role of EFCC chairman unless they meet the specified qualifications. The plaintiff also wants the appointment of any chairman not meeting these criteria to be declared null and void.

In the Abuja case, Mr. Opara questions the legality of the appointment of the EFCC chairman without the requisite statutory qualifications. He also challenges whether being a legal practitioner can equate to the rank of a government security or law enforcement agent in Nigeria. He further questions whether the President has the unbridled discretion to disregard the legal provisions guiding his power to appoint an EFCC chairman.

Mr. Opara seeks an order to nullify the appointment of the 4th Defendant as the Chairman of the EFCC and an injunction preventing the 4th Defendant from continuing to act as the Commission’s chairman.

The defendants in this yet-to-be-assigned case include President Tinubu, the Attorney-General of the Federation, EFCC, and its chairman, Olukoyede.