Former Nigerian Bar Association President Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) said on Thursday that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, should not have existed.

He said the commission currently operates outside of the Constitution.

Agbakoba said this at a press conference in Lagos.

According to him, since the EFCC is a creation of the National Assembly, it does not have the power to interfere in the activities of state governments.

Nigeria’s Chief Advocate insisted that the 1999 Constitution only provided a police force for Nigeria, adding that since the anti-corruption agency was not a branch of the police, it could not carry out its functions.

He noted that the EFCC remains a federal establishment created by the National Assembly, adding that under Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, the powers of government were divided into two: federal and state.

He said: “So the question will be, if the EFCC is created by the Federal Government, can it then prosecute state crimes?

“The Supreme Court in many of its decisions has held that federalism means two autonomous and independent governments and if that is correct, the EFCC has no right to go to the state and examine its accounts.

“Anyone can read section 46 of the EFCC Act and Section 36(12) of the Constitution of 1999. Section 36(12) states that all offenses must be defined and when you now read Section 46 you wonder if it complies with Section 36(12) because it does not.

“So part of the sentences I will be looking for in court is that the EFCC should not exist in the first place because it is not a branch of the police and that the work done by the EFCC is the same as that done by the Special Anti-Fraud Police. Unit.

“My other sentence will be whether the National Assembly can make laws for the federation and to what extent can the National Assembly, which is an arm of the Federal Government, make laws authorizing a federal agency to exercise powers as if it were a state agency.

“So all these contradictions should make the presidential candidates tell Nigerians what they are going to do with the constitution because it is flawed.”