The Kogi state government has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of illegal harassment of state officials “over a bail-out fund the Commission tried fruitlessly” to prove was stashed in an account, despite a court injunction restraining it.
The government in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Kingsley Fanwo, released in Lokoja on Friday, stated that, “Further to a Suit No. HCL/128/2021, filed by the Kogi State Government against the EFCC and other Defendants with respect to the said bail-out funds, the court issued an injunction on the 3rd of December 2021, restraining the EFCC or its agents from inviting or arresting any Kogi state government official or requesting for any documents in relating to the matter pending the determination of the motion on notice.”
Fanwo said despite the fact that the EFCC’s attempt to set aside the said order was refused by the Court and its appeal had not also been determined by the Court of Appeal, the Commission, in what the state government described as its usual Gestapo manner, attempted to arrest the cashier of the Government House.
The statement entitled, “EFCC Resumes Harassment of Kogi Government Officials in Violation of Injunction restraining it From So Doing,” described the attempt as “a clear and flagrant violation of a subsisting order by a competent court of jurisdiction.”
“The government of Kogi state supports the anti-corruption agenda of the APC-led federal government and has strengthened her institutions to remain transparent and accountable, resulting in our yearly awards from credible agencies, including the World Bank on Fiscal Transparency and Accountability,” the statement read in part.
