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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

EFCC freezes Gov Fayose’s account

The personal accounts of Governor
Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and those of some
of his associates have been frozen by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,
EFCC.

The action immediately prompted diverse
reactions with a large majority of lawyers and
Nigerians contacted affirming the validity of the
commission freezing a governor’s account, but
only upon the orders of a court.

Governor Fayose, who opened up on the EFCC's
action while speaking at the premises of Zenith
Bank, Ado-Ekiti, where he has his personal
account, claimed that he got notice of plans by
the Presidency to freeze his account some days
earlier.

A source in the bank told the visibly surprised
Fayose that his account was allegedly frozen on
the orders of the anti-graft agency.
The governor said he had earlier issued a
counter cheque to make a withdrawal, which was
rejected by the bank located in Onigari , GRA in
Ado Ekiti, describing the action as criminal and
illegal.

Citing Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution,
Fayose said he enjoys immunity as a sitting
governor, urging the Federal Government to
fight corruption within the ambit of the law.

He said: “I got wind of the fact that the EFCC had
placed restriction order on my personal account
and that of my associates. I came here today
(yesterday), and I have been able to see it. This
action shows that this government has no respect
for the constitution because I enjoy immunity
under Section 308.

“I support government fighting corruption, but it
has to be within the ambit of the law. You can
investigate me; it is their right, but they have to
wait till 2018 because I will be done by then.
They should not be in a hurry because I will
personally come to them for investigation.

“I have become a public figure in this country
that I don’t have anywhere to run to. This
rascality of EFCC must stop. If they like, let them
investigate the whole world. Is it because they
are the sitting government now that nobody can
ask them questions? We will take every legal
procedure to get things right.

“I am not leaving this bank until they give me a
statement of account. They must put it into
writing because EFCC has no right under the law
to freeze my account. They did not communicate
with me. They want to destabilize the state, and
we will use all legal means to make them obey
the constitution. They can investigate me, but
they can’t coerce me.”

An account can be blocked during
investigation —EFCC
Contacted, Head, Media and Publicity, EFCC, Mr
Wilson Uwujaren, did not, in clear terms,
confirm that Fayose’s personal account was
frozen. But asked if it was within the agency’s
constitutional powers, he replied: “Under the
constitution, government executives don’t have
immunity on investigation. They can be
investigated while in office but can’t be
prosecuted. Also, an account can be blocked
during investigation.”

His account can be frozen—Sagay
The EFCC position was affirmed by Chairman,
Presidential Advisory Committee on Corruption,
Prof Itse Sagay, SAN, who said the commission
had been empowered to freeze accounts or
assets of anyone under investigation.

Sagay, who hinged his assertion on a Supreme
Court verdict to buttress his point, said: “If the
EFCC is investigating anybody and they have
reasons to believe that somebody has acquired
state assets for himself, they are empowered by
the law to apply to a court to freeze those assets,
including banking assets, pending the enquiry
and possible trial. So, they have that power.

"For a governor, it is a unique situation, but the
Supreme Court has already held that even if you
enjoy immunity, you are also subject to being
investigated. So, that would be one of the
consequences of that investigation.”

EFCC can freeze a gov’s account during
investigation —Ngige

Also throwing his weight behind Sagay’s
submission, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, said: “If
during an investigation the EFCC discovers that a
particular account has been used for money
laundering, the commission has the right to
freeze the account pending the outcome of the
investigation. It is not touching the account but
just suspending the usage of the account.

“It does not matter whether the account belongs
to a governor or not. I have said in the past that
the Supreme Court had ruled in a past case that
immunity shields governors from arrest and
prosecution but not from an investigation.

"The apex court ruled that the governors have no
immunity against investigation. The commission
is empowered by the law to investigate
governors and if in the course of their
investigation, they find that an account has been
used for money laundering they can freeze it.”

It's illegal — Ozekhome
It is illegal and unconstitutional for the account
of a sitting governor to be frozen while in office.

The governor enjoys immunity under Section
308 of the 1999 Constitution and for whatever
purpose, his account cannot be frozen. Section
308 of the Constitution grants immunity to the
governor and his deputy just as it grants
immunity to the President and his vice-
president.

"You cannot freeze the account of a President
while he is still in office just like you cannot
freeze the account of a governor while he is still
in office. You can wait till he leaves office. Since
he enjoys immunity, the same thing applies to
his finances and all his property.

“My take on this matter is that we should be very
careful so that we don’t over-stretch our
democracy or overheat the polity. The last time I
checked, we are supposed to be operating a
constitutional democracy that thrives on the rule
of law as observers of human rights and not
military dictatorship. I plead with President
Muhammadu Buhari to call the EFCC to order as
they are making Nigeria a laughing stock in the
eyes of the international community.”

It’s an abnormality — Afenifere
On his part, Afenifere’s National Publicity
Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said the move
was an abnormality but was quick to call on the
commission to give an explanation as to why it
took the step.

Odumakin said: “If it was done, it is an
abnormality. What crime did he commit? Did he
keep the money of the state in his private
account? What level of investigation have they
done to warrant the closure of his personal
account?

"People will see this as an attempt to witch-hunt
and muzzle him. If it is true, it will be the height
of high-handedness. They owe the country an
explanation, and they must tell us why they did
such.”

Lawyer and human rights activist, Tokunbo
Mumuni, said: “The fact that the governor is in
power does not mean he cannot be investigated.

This has been settled in the case of Fawehinmi
vs. Tinubu. However, he has immunity from any
prosecution. On the issue of his frozen account,
if it is true, that means the anti-graft agency
must have secured a valid court order. If this is
not done, the exercise remains invalid and
illegal.

“If the court feels that, indeed, there is a
commission of a crime relating to the account or
the owner of the account, the court has the
power to freeze the account pending
investigation. Like I said, there must be a valid
order of the court, which must be the
instrument to be executed.”

No big deal on frozen account —Chukwuma
Lagos lawyer, Nnamdi Chukwuma, said: “There is
nothing big or serious about the freezing of an
account belonging to a state governor. If it is his
personal account, he is like any other bank
customer, whose transaction is subject to extant
laws. However, what is big is that the account
cannot be validly frozen except there is an
existing court order.

“The governor cannot claim political
victimization, if the EFCC got a valid court order
which will be based on the averment canvassed
before the court. There is no court that can grant
an order without being convinced of the facts
presented before it.”

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