Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue State has suspended Fidelis Mnyim, the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice and Public Order.
Mnyim was suspended because he joined states that challenged the establishment of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
The Supreme Court reserved judgment in a lawsuit filed by 19 states challenging the constitutionality of the laws that created the EFCC.
Imo and Bauchi joined the lawsuit as co-plaintiffs, while Osun State requested a consolidation of the lawsuit, and Anambra, Ebonyi, and Adamawa withdrew their suits.
The 19 states remaining in the lawsuit are Kogi, Kebbi, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa, Enugu, Oyo, Benue, Plateau, Cross River, Ondo, Niger, Edo, Bauchi, Imo, Osun, Nasarawa, Ogun, and Taraba.
The states argued that the EFCC Establishment Act was based on the UN Convention against Corruption and that the provision of Section 12 of the Nigerian constitution was not followed when this law was enacted in 2004.
They contended that bringing a convention into Nigerian law requires compliance with Section 12 of the constitution.
The court reserved its judgment date to a later date.
