The personal accounts of Governor
Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and those of some of his associates have been frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).
The action immediately prompted diverse reactions with a large majority of lawyers and Nigerians
contacted affirming the validity of the commission freezing a governor’s account, but only upon the orders of a court.
Governor Fayose, who opened up on the EFCC’s action while speaking at the,premises of Zenith Bank, Ado-Ekiti, where he has his personal account, claimed that he got notice of plans by the Presidency to freeze his account some days earlier.
A source in the bank told the visibly
surprised Fayose that his account was allegedly frozen on the orders of the anti-graft agency. The governor said he had earlier issued a counter cheque to make a withdrawal, which was rejected by the bank located in Onigari , GRA in Ado Ekiti, describing the action as criminal and,illegal. Citing Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution, Fayose said he enjoys immunity as a sitting governor, urging the Federal Government to fight corruption within the ambit of the law.
He said: “I got wind of the fact that the EFCC had placed restriction order on my,personal account and that of my associates. I came here today (yesterday), and I have been able to see it. This action shows that this government has no respect for the constitution because I enjoy immunity under Section 308. I support government fighting corruption, but it has to be within the ambit of the law. You can investigate me; it is their right, but they have to wait till 2018 because I will be done by then. They should not be in a
hurry because I will personally come to them for investigation.
“I have become a public figure in this
country that I don’t have anywhere to run to. This rascality of EFCC must stop. If they like, let them investigate the whole world. Is it because they are the sitting government now that nobody can ask them questions? We will take every legal procedure to get things right. I am not leaving this bank until they give me a statement of account. They must put it into writingbecause EFCC has no right under the law to freeze my account. They did not communicate with me. They want to destabilize the state, and we will use all legal means to make them obey the constitution. They can investigate me, but they can’t coerce me.”
EFCC Reacts: 'We have right to freeze any suspicious account including Fayose’s' The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has reacted to the claim that Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State cannot be investigated because of
immunity currently being enjoyed by him.
The commission said that the immunitybeing enjoyed by any governor does not prevent the commission from investigating suspicious movements of money into his accounts. The Spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren said:
“ Immunity does not prevent EFCC from investigating suspicious accounts of those enjoying immunity and Fayose cannot be an
exception. Under the constitution,
government executives don’t have immunity on investigation. They can be investigated while in office but can’t be prosecuted. Also,an account can be blocked during investigation.”
Source: Vanguard
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