Bamidele Oloyelogun, the Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, has been told by a high court in Akure that he has a case to answer for corruption charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The charges relate to allegations that Oloyelogun, another lawmaker, and a government worker took money from the Assembly’s fund, which was N2.4 million.
The case was brought to court after the Speaker and other defendants had filed a preliminary objection, claiming that the EFCC had no power to investigate crimes that affected the finances and assets of the Ondo State government. The defendants argued that a law passed by the Ondo State House of Assembly in January 2022 was already in place to deal with corruption claims in the state.
However, the EFCC’s lawyer, Mr Fredrick Dibang, argued that the court had jurisdiction because the state law went against the acts of the National Assembly that set up the EFCC. He also argued that the House of Assembly passing the law was an attempt to stop accusations of corruption against the lawmakers and the public servant.
In his decision, Justice Adegboyega Adebusoye threw out the state law and said that the EFCC has the right to investigate the alleged fraud and bring charges against the lawmakers. The judge said, “The offences being against the defendants are not state offences promulgated by the state legislation but a federal offence, having been enacted by the National Assembly, though related to Ondo state finances.”
The accused is said to have taken that much money out of the budget for a seminar that was supposed to take place in Lagos. Justice Adebusoye ruled that the Speaker and other people on trial should be arraigned on April 24 and 25. He did this by rejecting the preliminary objection made against their trials.
This ruling indicates that the EFCC has the power to investigate and prosecute corruption cases against state government officials, despite the existence of state laws that may seem to protect such officials. The case also highlights the importance of ensuring that state and federal laws are consistent and do not conflict with each other.
The judge said, “The offences being against the defendants are not state offences promulgated by the state legislation but a federal offence, having been enacted by the National Assembly, though related to Ondo state finances.
“Without wasting the time of this court, it settles that the complainant is empowered to investigate and prosecute the three defendants on the two counts charge as stated in the information file, being federal offences and even though the alleged ones involved belong to the Ondo state government.”