Sanwo-Olu Takes Legal Action Against EFCC Over Alleged Planned Arrest

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has filed a lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged threats to arrest, detain, and prosecute him after his tenure as governor.

Sanwo-Olu, represented by his lawyer Darlington Ozurumba, submitted the fundamental rights enforcement suit to Justice Joyce Abdulmalik at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

When the case was called on Tuesday, October 29, Ozurumba informed the court that he had withdrawn the previous originating summons and replaced it with a new one.

He stated that the EFCC had been properly served with the updated court documents. However, EFCC counsel Hadiza Afegbua indicated that she had not yet seen the documents.

Additionally, proof of service was not included in the court file, prompting Justice Abdulmalik to adjourn the case until November 11 for further mention.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that in the originating summons, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/773/2024 and filed on June 6, the governor raised seven questions and sought 11 forms of relief.

Sanwo-Olu requested a declaration that, in accordance with Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, “the plaintiff, as a citizen of Nigeria, is entitled to the right to private and family life as a minimum guarantee encapsulated under the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, 1999 before, during and after the occupation of a public office created by the Constitution.”

He is seeking the court’s declaration that, under Sections 43 and 44(1) of the 1999 Constitution, he has the right to acquire, own, operate, and manage both movable and immovable property.

This right, he argues, includes bank accounts and serves as a minimum guarantee provided by the Constitution both during and after his tenure as governor.

Sanwo-Olu also wants the court to declare that, when reading Sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the Constitution together, the EFCC’s threat of investigation, arrest, and detention during his time in office is illegal.

He contends that the plan to arrest him is unconstitutional and constitutes a serious violation of his fundamental rights to personal liberty and freedom of movement, as protected under Sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

The governor has requested the court to declare that the ongoing harassment, threats of arrest, and detention instigated by the EFCC—driven by false and politically motivated allegations of corruption from his political opponents—constitute a misuse of executive powers and an abuse of public office.

He further seeks a declaration that this constitutes an unwarranted interference with his fundamental rights to personal liberty, freedom of movement, fair hearing, and equal protection under the law, as guaranteed by the Constitution and the African Charter on Human & Peoples’ Rights, CAP A9 LFN 2004.

Mr. Sanwo-Olu is also asking for an order to restrain the EFCC from harassing, intimidating, arresting, detaining, interrogating, or prosecuting him in relation to his time as governor of Lagos State.

He also requested that the court issue an order prohibiting and restraining the commission “from seizing the property, passport, and travel documents of the plaintiff or freezing the bank accounts of the plaintiff, his family members or in any other way to further breach the plaintiff’s fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution.”

He urged the court to issue an order restraining the EFCC from inviting, arresting, or detaining him in connection with his tenure as governor, as well as from violating his fundamental rights to personal liberty, fair hearing, private and family life, and freedom of movement, along with his rights to acquire movable and immovable property as established by law.

In the affidavit supporting the originating summons, deposed by Martha Kanu, a litigation secretary at the law firm, it was stated that she learned the facts from the governor during a teleconference meeting, which she believes to be true.

She alleged that the EFCC was secretly planning to arrest some of the governor’s aides and family members based on false accusations of fund diversion.

Kanu claimed that officials of the commission were pressuring some of the governor’s aides to provide incriminating statements against him.

Additionally, she alleged that the anti-graft agency was threatening to target contractors working on state government projects, compelling them to make statements that would implicate Mr. Sanwo-Olu in corruption as part of a coordinated effort to fabricate a case against him.

According to her, in a malicious attempt to undermine the governor, some of his political opponents, in collaboration with certain EFCC officials, were falsely attributing non-existent corrupt practices to his administration.

She further claimed that the EFCC, through its officials, was actively inventing false, spurious, and malicious allegations against the governor to justify investigating, arresting, and prosecuting him after he leaves office.