Odili’s Probe: Supreme Court Dismisses Rivers’ Case Against EFCC

The Supreme Court has dismissed two appeals by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the state’s Assembly seeking to set aside the leave granted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to challenge an order prohibiting the investigation of the tenure of Peter Odili as governor of the state.

Odili had, in 2007, obtained a perpetual injunction from a Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt (Rivers State capital) restraining the EFCC from investigating or arresting him

The court order also restrained the anti-graft agency from probing the finances of the Rivers State Government.

The EFCC later applied to the Court of Appeal for leave to appeal the Federal High Court’s decision out of time, an application the appellate court granted, a decision the AG, Rivers, and the Speaker appealed to the Supreme Court.

On Monday, when the appeal filed by the AG, Rivers, marked: SC/CV/318/2018 was called, Justice John Okoro, who presided over a five-member panel, sought to know the substance of the case.

Appellant’s lawyer, S. A. Somiari (SAN), explained that it was an interlocutory appeal against the leave granted by the Court of Appeal for the EFCC to appeal the 2007 orders issued by the Federal High Court.

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While Somiari was still struggling to highlight the relevance of the appeal, Justice Okoro interjected and told him that “this is not the type of appeal we hear here.”

Justice Okoro asked Somiari and other parties in the case to return to the Court of Appeal to have the substantive appeal heard before coming to the Supreme Court.

Realising the court’s disposition to his case, Somiari subsequently applied to withdraw the appeal, which application was not opposed by the EFCC, Abubakar Mahmud, who led Sylvanus Tahir (SAN) and B. O. Obialo, who appeared for the other respondents.

Ruling, Justice Okoro said: “Appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.”

Similar treatment was accorded to the appeal marked SC/CV/447/2018 by the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly.