Supreme Court Clears EFCC to Investigate Peter Odili’s Tenure as Rivers State Governor

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed appeals filed by the Rivers State Attorney General and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, clearing the way for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the tenure of former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili.

In a tweet posted late Tuesday night, March 11, on the EFCC’s official X handle, the agency revealed that the Supreme Court, in a ruling delivered on Monday, March 10, 2025, upheld the leave granted by the Court of Appeal for the EFCC to challenge a long-standing perpetual injunction that had barred it from probing Odili’s administration.

The ruling was issued by a five-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice John Okoro.

Odili, who served as Rivers State governor from 1999 to 2007, obtained the injunction from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt in 2007, preventing the EFCC from investigating, arresting, or prosecuting him, as well as examining the state’s finances during his tenure.

Since 2008, the EFCC has made repeated efforts to overturn the injunction but faced setbacks for nearly two decades.

In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC’s request to challenge the Federal High Court’s ruling. However, the Rivers State Attorney General and the Speaker of the House of Assembly filed separate appeals at the Supreme Court, seeking to nullify the appellate court’s decision.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, noted that during Monday’s proceedings, Justice Okoro questioned the nature of the appeals, describing them as interlocutory and not the type of cases typically heard by the apex court at this stage.

“The litigants’ 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, representing the Rivers State Attorney General, applied to withdraw the appeal. The EFCC’s legal team, led by Abubakar Mahmud, SAN, alongside Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, and B. O. Obialo, did not oppose the withdrawal.

Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.

“The appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection,” Justice Okoro ruled.