Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has denied reports claiming he sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged threat to arrest, detain and prosecute him after his tenure as governor.
The rebuttal was made by Lawal Pedro, SAN Hon. Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, on Tuesday.
Reports had filtered out that Sanwo-Olu, through his lawyer, Darlington Ozurumba, filed the fundamental right enforcement suit against EFCC before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Rebuttal
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that in the originating summons, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/773/2024 dated and filed on June 6, the governor raised seven questions and sought 11 reliefs.
According to the report, Sanwo-Olu sought a declaration that under and by virtue of the provisions of Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, “the plaintiff, as a citizen of Nigeria, is entitled to right to private and family life as a minimum guarantee encapsulated under the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria, 1999 before, during and after occupation of public office created by the Constitution.”
The report said the governor said that the plan to arrest him by EFCC was unconstitutional and a flagrant violation of his fundamental right to personal liberty and freedom of movement as guaranteed under Sections 35(1) & (4) and 41(1) of the Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 ( as amended).
Reacting, the AG denied the contents of the report.
“We need to clarify that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at no time, sued or briefed any legal practitioner to file a suit on his behalf concerning the above subject matter.
“Also, it is disingenuous for the Governor who enjoys immunity as conferred on him by the Constitution and has almost three years ahead of him to brief any lawyer on this kind of matter.
“To the best of my knowledge and my inquiry confirmed that the EFCC is not investigating the Governor and has never invited him or threatened arrest of any member of his staff, domestic or otherwise.We are currently investigating how the case came to be without our knowledge,” he said.
He added that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been an exemplar in terms of service delivery, prudent and judicious management of the public resources.
“Therefore, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu who is busy working assiduously on how to improve the living conditions of all Lagosians does not have anything to fear when he eventually leaves office at the end of his tenure in May 2027,” he added.
He enjoined media organisations to be wary of the kind of reports they entertain.
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