Ola Akinwunmi
A legal practitioner, Joshua Ijaodola, has filed two separate suits at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to nullify the Acts establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The lawyer argues that these Acts are unconstitutional and violate Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Filed on June 24, 2025, the suits, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1231/2025 (against EFCC) and FHC/ABJ/CS/1232/2025 (against NSCDC), name the National Assembly, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as co-defendants, alongside the respective agencies.
Ijaodola’s core argument hinges on the premise that Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution exclusively vests the power to establish and maintain a police force in the Nigeria Police Force. He contends that by creating the EFCC and NSCDC with powers to investigate, arrest, detain, and prosecute, the National Assembly has effectively created “economic police” and another parallel security agency, thereby usurping the constitutionally defined role of the NPF.
In his affidavit supporting the EFCC suit, Ijaodola asserts that the EFCC Act of 2004, particularly Section 6 and Section 8(5), unlawfully delegates policing duties to the anti-graft agency. He maintains that the NPF, under Section 4 of the Police Act, 2022, is the sole body empowered for detecting, preventing, apprehending, and prosecuting crimes.
Similarly, in the suit against the NSCDC, Ijaodola argues that the NSCDC (Amendment) Act, 2007, grants police powers to the corps, which also contravenes Section 214 of the Constitution. He alleges that both the EFCC and NSCDC have been “usurping the constitutional powers of the police under the guise of their enabling Acts.”
The lawyer further highlighted the financial implications of maintaining these agencies, stating that the Nigerian government, represented by the AGF, has been spending “billions of naira” on their operations despite their alleged unconstitutional establishment.
Ijaodola is seeking an order from the court declaring the Acts establishing both the EFCC and NSCDC as “unconstitutional and in violation of Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) in 2023.” He has also affirmed, through an affidavit of non-multiplication of actions, that these matters are not pending before any other court.
The suits are yet to be assigned to a judge for hearing, but legal observers believe they could trigger a significant legal battle with far-reaching implications for law enforcement and anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria.