The Supreme Court of Nigeria has paved the way for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the tenure of former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, following the dismissal of appeals filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
The ruling, delivered on Monday, March 10, 2025, by a five-member panel led by Justice John Okoro, upheld the Court of Appeal’s decision granting the EFCC permission to challenge a 2007 Federal High Court order that had shielded Odili from investigation.
The legal battle began in 2007 when Odili, who governed Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, obtained a perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, preventing the EFCC from probing his administration.
The injunction barred the commission from investigating, arresting, or prosecuting Odili and restricted any scrutiny of the state’s finances during his tenure.
Although the EFCC has fought to overturn the ruling since 2008, it had remained in place for nearly two decades.
In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC leave to appeal the injunction, prompting the Rivers State Attorney General and the Speaker of the House of Assembly to challenge the decision at the Supreme Court.
During Monday’s hearing of the case marked SC/CV/318/2018, Justice Okoro questioned the nature of the appeal, describing it as interlocutory.
When the appellant’s counsel, S. A. Somiari (SAN), argued that the appeal sought to challenge the Court of Appeal’s decision to allow the EFCC’s appeal, Justice Okoro advised the parties to first exhaust the appellate process before approaching the Supreme Court.
Following the court’s stance, Somiari applied to withdraw the appeal, which was unopposed by the EFCC’s legal team, led by Abubakar Mahmud (SAN), Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), and B. O. Obialo. Justice Okoro subsequently dismissed the appeal, stating, “The appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.”
A separate appeal filed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, marked SC/CV/447/2018, was also dismissed on similar grounds.
