Nigerian lawyers have kicked against the appointment of Ola Olukoyede as the executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) by president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Some have expressed the need to challenge the appointment saying that Olukoyede does not have the requisite qualification and competency to take on the role.
On Thursday, October 12, president Tinubu appointed Olukoyede as the new EFCC chairman for an initial term of four years, subject to Senate confirmation.
The appointment was confirmed in a statement released by the president’s spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, stating that the citizen was considered for the position following the resignation of the suspended executive chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa.
Ngelale also confirmed the appointment of Muhammad Hassan Hammajoda as the Secretary of the EFCC for an initial term of five years, subject to Senate confirmation.
In their reaction, some legal practitioners expressed their displeasure with President Tinubu’s latest appointment, debating on Olukoyede’s qualification for the position.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Sani Katu, who spoke with The PUNCH, faulted the appointment, saying he would be among those who would challenge it. According to him, even the establishment of the EFCC Act itself was not duly followed by the National Assembly.
“There are laid-down rules and guiding principles for the appointment of the EFCC chairman. These rules are contained in the Act, which specifies that the appointee must be either a retired ACP of a rank similar to that of an ACP. This is a law that must be enforced.
“If the law is not obeyed during the appointment, it implies that the appointment is unlawful.
“For me, I have once challenged even the EFCC Act itself because the procedure for its establishment was not duly followed by the National Assembly. We challenged it in court. So, I’m not ruling out the possibility that others will go to court to challenge this appointment.
“I’m still assessing the circumstances surrounding the situation, and it’s possible we might be part of those who will challenge this appointment,” Katu reportedly said.
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who spoke to the media platform on condition of anonymity, faulted the Nigerian Senate for not questioning the appointment of the new EFCC chairman.
The legal practitioner described the 10th Senate as rubber stamp, alleging that the appointment of Olukoyede was a way of compromising the EFCC.
He said: “If there is a breach of the law, it is the duty of the Senate to intercept that and remedy it.
“It is the duty of the Senate to say his appointment is a breach of the provisions of the constitution, but this is a rubber-stamp Senate.
“It is a way of compromising the EFCC to make it a toothless bulldog that would not do anything for the country.”
On his part, the Director of Abuja School of Social and Political Thought, Nigeria, Sam Amadi, said President Tinubu breached the provisions of the EFCC Act in the appointment of the commission’s chairman.
He said: “It might be politically convenient, but it entrenches impunity and lack of respect for the rule of law.
“After him, someone will take it a notch higher and abrogate the constitution. Time to end Buhari’s legacy.”