Alleged N9b Money Laundering: Oyo Government, EFCC In Court For Questioning Security Vote, Contingency Fund, Others

Oyo State government had last Friday, instituted a case against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

Oyo government noted that the EFCC had since August 2021 been constantly requesting for financial documents that could be interpreted as auditing and investigating the expenditure of funds such that it denudes powers of the state governor as contained in section 176 of the constitution as Chief Security Officer of the state.

The State government had in the suit FHC/IB/23/22 pointed to a clash between provision of the 1999 constitution (as amended) and the EFCC Act of 2004, going by the EFCC questioning of how the state government expended and disbursed its security vote, other contingency fund and the consolidated revenue fund.

JUSTICE U. N. Agomoh of the Federal High Court, Ibadan, on Tuesday, ordered both the Oyo State government and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to refrain from any action that will render final determination of the case instituted by the state government against the EFCC nugatory.

Agomoh gave the order after hearing the application of the Oyo State government that the 1999 constitution (as amended) which established the Consolidated Revenue Fund and Contingency Fund, has Security Vote as an integral part, superseded the powers of EFCC as contained in the EFCC Act of 2004.

Similarly, the suit held that section 120 to 128 created the Consolidated Revenue Fund and Contingency Fund for the state government with disbursement and expenditure of funds within the purview of the governor while investigation of waste, corruption, inefficiency in expenditure is the function of the House of Assembly