The Lagos State Government has denied claims that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged plan to arrest, detain, and prosecute him after his tenure ends in 2027. “Our attention has been drawn to the news circulating in a section of the media, titled: ‘Sanwo-Olu Sues EFCC over alleged plan to arrest and prosecute him after tenure.’ 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,” said Lawal Pedro, SAN, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State.
Pedro further emphasised that the governor is not under investigation by the EFCC and has never been invited or threatened with arrest by the agency. “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,” Pedro noted.
Despite this denial, it was reported by some media (not LM) that Governor Sanwo-Olu’s legal team, led by Darlington Ozurumba, filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja. According to the reports, the suit argues that the EFCC’s plan is unconstitutional and a violation of Sanwo-Olu’s fundamental rights. “The plan to arrest him is 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),” Ozurumba stated.
It was reported that the governor is seeking a court order to prohibit the EFCC from seizing his properties, international passport, and travel documents, or freezing his bank accounts and those of his family members. “We are asking the court to make an order prohibiting and restraining the EFCC from further breaching the plaintiff’s fundamental rights guaranteed under the constitution,” Ozurumba added.
The case was said to have been adjourned until November 11 for further mention, as the EFCC’s counsel, Hadiza Afegbua, stated that she had not yet reviewed the updated court documents.
