Stopping EFCC from Arresting Oke, Ekpeyong, Illegal- Hon
A senior lawyer, Chief Sebastine Hon (SAN), has said that it is illegal for the operatives of the DSS and the NIA to stop the EFCC from arresting their former officials.
In a statement he issued on Wednesday, Hon said that the officials of the DSS and the NIA had no right, moral or legal, to prevent the EFCC from performing its statutory functions.
According to him, the action of the DSS and NIA’s officials amounted to a breach of their oaths of office and their avowed allegiance to the constitution and the rule of law.
He said: “Officials of the security agencies involved in this ugly saga bear arms; and supposing the EFCC officials attempted to force their way into the residences of the indicted persons, what would have been the result?
“If the indicted persons were still serving, one would have expected the EFCC, out of courtesy and not out any legal obligation, to have formally requested the DSS and the NIA to turn them in to the EFCC. But the twosome are not in service again; and in the absence of constitutional or statutory immunity, there is nothing stopping the EFCC from inviting or even arresting them.”
The senior advocate also called on President Muhammadu Buhari as the Commander-in-Chief of all the armed forces, including the DSS and the NIA, to weigh in immediately.
He said, “If he refuses, fails or neglects to do that, his already imperilled anti-corruption agenda will plunge further downhill. Mr. President should act immediately”.
Francesca Iwambe – Abuja
