Posted by By SHOLA OSHUNKEYE on
A strong voice of reason rang stridently, yesterday, from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, supporting the decision by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa, to step into the case of alleged corruption instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against the immediate past governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.
A strong voice of reason rang stridently, yesterday, from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, supporting the decision by the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Mr. Mike Aondoakaa, to step into the case of alleged corruption instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, against the immediate past governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.
Lawyer to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Afe Babalola, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said, in an exclusive interview with DAILY SUN, that the AGF, had every right under the constitution to step into any criminal case he may deem fit at any material time.
The respected lawyer's declaration came on the heels of a frantic rebuttal by the EFCC that it had not apologized to the AGF over the insulting conduct of its young counsel, Mr. Adebisi Adeniyi, when the nation's Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, attempted to take over the case on September 5.
Although Chief Babalola said he did not know all the facts of the case as he was out of the country at the time of the altercation, he, nonetheless, declared: "I support the AG. Absolutely. He made an order binding on anybody, even EFCC. There should be unqualified respect for him. We cannot have two ministers of justice. He is the minister of justice.
"The EFCC law or ICPC law is not higher than the constitution. After all, the EFCC is implementing the law relating to criminal matters. If it is implementing that, then, of course, the Attorney General has the right to review it. I would say the AG has the overriding power to step into any criminal matter in the courts, whether by the police, ICPC or EFCC.
"Whether I know the fact or not, the point remains that the Attorney General is the number one lawyer in the country and the prosecution of cases is matter for the Attorney General. And, more importantly, if he makes an order in a case, everybody under the rule of law must obey."
Insisting that the EFCC ought to have stepped down in the matter, without creating a scene, Chief Afe Babalola described the open resistance of the young lawyer to the anti-graft agency as "most embarrassing" to the judiciary and the legal profession in particular. "This is a matter that ought not to degenerate to the level of public ridicule," he said. "It is not neat enough and it is not in the interest of the judiciary and the legal profession. For the EFCC and the AG to quarrel in the open?
"You see, all of them, whether you are EFCC or ICPC, are acting for the president of the country, and the minister is next to the president of the country in criminal matters like this. He is the number one lawyer in the country. He is the chief law officer of the federation. There is no way you can now elevate the police prosecutor to the level of the attorney general. I think there has to be respect by that young lawyer."
Despite upbraiding Adeniyi over his conduct, the respected SAN, however, advised that the matter should be resolved amicably. "I think they should settle the matter privately," he counseled.