The Supreme Court has dismissed two appeals filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, both seeking to challenge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) bid to overturn a long-standing court order protecting former Governor Peter Odili from investigation.
Odili, who governed Rivers State from 1999 to 2007, had secured a perpetual injunction from a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, preventing the EFCC from probing his tenure or the state’s finances.
Years later, the EFCC approached the Court of Appeal to seek permission to challenge this ruling despite missing the initial deadline.
The appellate court granted the request, prompting the Rivers State officials to take the matter to the Supreme Court.
During Monday’s proceedings, Justice John Okoro led a five-member panel to hear the case marked SC/CV/318/2018, filed by the Rivers State Attorney General.
When asked to justify the appeal, the appellant’s counsel, S. A. Somiari (SAN), argued that the case was an interlocutory appeal concerning the EFCC’s right to contest the 2007 order.
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However, Justice Okoro swiftly dismissed the argument, stating, “This is not the type of appeal we hear here.” He advised the legal team to return to the Court of Appeal for the substantive hearing before bringing the matter to the Supreme Court.
Realizing the court’s position, Somiari withdrew the appeal, which was unopposed by the EFCC’s legal representatives, led by Abubakar Mahmud. Consequently, Justice Okoro ruled that the appeal stood dismissed.
A second appeal, SC/CV/447/2018, filed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, faced a similar fate and was also struck out.
With this ruling, the EFCC now retains the opportunity to pursue its appeal at the Court of Appeal, potentially reopening investigations into Odili’s tenure as governor.