EFCC TARGETS PETER ODILI, AS SUPREME COURT CLEARS WAY FOR HEARING OF APPEAL AGAINST PERPETUAL INJUNCTION

The Supreme Court has cleared legal obstacles impeding the investigation of the Rivers State government under the administration of Dr Peter Odili as governor. This follows a landmark ruling on Monday, March 10, 2025, in which the Supreme Court of Nigeria dismissed appeals filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the State’s House of Assembly against the leave the Court of Appeal granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to contest an order of perpetual injunction of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, which barred the Commission from investigating Dr Odili's tenure as governor of the state. EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, who confirmed the development in a statement, said the dismissal of the appeals by a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro, effectively cleared the pathway for the Commission to investigate Dr Odili’s eight years in office. Oyewale recalled that the legal dispute began in 2007 when Odili, who served as Rivers State governor from 1999 to 2007, obtained an order of perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt barring the EFCC from investigating, arresting, or prosecuting him. He noted that the order also prohibited the anti-graft agency from examining the finances of the Rivers State Government during his tenure. “In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC’s request for leave to appeal the Federal High Court decision, which prompted the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly to file separate appeals at the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the appellate court decision”, he noted. He explained that “On March 10, 2025, the Supreme Court convened to hear the appeal filed by the litigants, marked SC/CV/318/2018. During the proceedings, Justice Okoro questioned the substance of the case, noting that the appeal was interlocutory in nature. The litigants’s lawyer, S. A. Somiari, SAN, argued that the appeal challenged the leave granted by the Court of Appeal for the EFCC to appeal the 2007 injunction. Justice Okoro, however, interjected, stating, “This is not the type of appeal we hear here,” and advised the parties to return to the Court of Appeal to have the substantive appeal heard before approaching the Supreme Court. “Recognizing the court’s position, Somiari applied to withdraw the appeal while the EFCC’s legal team, led by Abubakar Mahmud, SAN, alongside Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, and B. O. Obialo did not oppose the withdrawal” he added. The spokesman said that Justice Okoro dismissed the appeal, stating, “The appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.” A similar appeal marked SC/CV/447/2018, filed by the Speaker of the House of Assembly was dismissed on the same ground.