The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has the constitutional power to take over any criminal case at any stage of investigation.
The spokesman of the commission, Tony Orilade, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
Orilade was reacting to the takeover of the case of alleged N25 billion fraud filed against former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje by the commission.
According to Orilade, by virtue of the existing law, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation has the power to take over any criminal case at any stage.
“And that is exactly what has happened”.
The AGF had on Friday taken over the case of alleged N25 billion fraud filed against Sen. Goje (APC-Gombe Central).
Goje was until last Thursday, a contender for the post of the Senate President.
He withdrew from the race after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari and immediately endorsed his rival Ahmad Lawan (APC-Yobe).
Section 174 (1a) of the 1999 Constitution states that the Attorney-General of the Federation shall have the power “To institute and undertake criminal proceedings against any person before any court of law in Nigeria, other than a court-martial, in respect of any offence created by or under any Act of the National Assembly.”
While subsection (1b) says “to take over and continue any such proceedings that may have been instituted by any other authority or person”.
For almost eight years, the EFCC had been prosecuting the former governor until Friday, June 7.
The case, which was before Justice Babatunde Quadiri of Jos Federal High Court II, had even gone to the Jos Court of Appeal over the remaining two count charges out of 21 filed against him by EFCC.
The appellate court is yet to fix a date for the hearing of the appeal.
When the case came up for an emergency hearing before Justice Quadiri, the EFCC counsel, Wahab Shittu, told the court that the agency was withdrawing from the case and handing it over the office of the Attorney-General for continuation.
