Court Stops 21 Anambra LGAs From Receiving Federal Allocations, Orders EFCC Probe

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, presided over by Justice Bello Kawo at the Apo district, has issued a directive halting federal financial allocations to the 21 local government areas (LGAs) of Anambra State.

This suspension will remain in effect pending the resolution of a suit currently before the court.

The decision came as a result of an exparte motion filed by legal practitioner Mr. Chukwuebuka Mmeni.

Justice Kawo’s ruling not only stops the remittance of funds from the consolidated revenue funds by the Accountant General of the Federation and the Minister of Finance but also calls for a thorough investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The investigation aims to scrutinize the utilization of the funds received by the LGAs from March 2022 to April 2024.

Among those named as defendants in the case are the Accountant General of the Federation, the Minister of Finance, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Anambra State Government, and the EFCC itself.

The court has granted all requests presented by Mmeni’s counsel, N. O. Okpe, who was acting on behalf of Chimezie Enuka.

Mmeni  approached the Federal High Court with the aim of understand how the local government areas in the state had utilized previous allocations.