In a significant legal victory for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed appeals seeking to block the anti-graft agency from investigating the tenure of former Rivers State governor, Dr. Peter Odili.
According to a statement by the anti-graft agency on its official X account (formerly Twitter), the ruling, delivered on Monday, March 10, 2025, by a five-member panel of the apex court led by Justice John Okoro, upheld the commission’s right to appeal a perpetual injunction that had shielded Odili from scrutiny for nearly two decades.
The appeals, filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, challenging the Court of Appeal’s 2018 decision to grant the EFCC leave to contest the injunction issued by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
However, the dispute dates back to 2007 when Dr. Odili, who governed Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, obtained a perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court, barring the EFCC from investigating, arresting, or prosecuting him.
The order also prohibited the commission from examining the financial dealings of the state during his tenure.
According to the statement, the EFCC has continuously sought to overturn the ruling, arguing that it undermined its statutory mandate to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC permission to challenge the injunction, prompting Rivers State officials to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court in a bid to halt further legal proceedings.
“The legal dispute took off 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 Odili, as well as prohibiting the anti-graft agency from examining the finances of the Rivers State Government during his tenure. Though the EFCC has contested the injunction since 2008, the order has effectively shielded Odili from any scrutiny by the Commission for nearly two decades,” read the statement.
The statement revealed further, that, when the case, marked SC/CV/318/2018, came up for hearing at the Supreme Court, Justice Okoro questioned the validity of the appeal, describing it as interlocutory rather than a substantive matter.
“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”, it said.
In addition, counsel for the appellants, S.A. Somiari, SAN, argued that the appeal sought to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision granting EFCC the right to contest the injunction.
However, Justice Okoro advised the litigants to return to the Court of Appeal for a hearing on the substantive case before seeking redress at the Supreme Court.
“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.”
Consequently, Justice Okoro dismissed the appeal, stating, “The appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.”
Also, a separate but similar appeal, marked SC/CV/447/2018, filed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, was also dismissed on the same grounds.
