By The Supreme Court has dismissed appeals filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), clearing the way for the agency to investigate former governor Dr. Peter Odili.
The case dates back to 2007, when Odili obtained a perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, preventing the EFCC from investigating his tenure as Rivers State Governor (1999–2007). The EFCC has been challenging this order since 2008, but the injunction has shielded Odili from scrutiny for nearly two decades.
In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC permission to challenge the injunction. This prompted the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the House of Assembly to file appeals at the Supreme Court seeking to overturn that decision.
However, on March 10, 2025, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro, dismissed the appeals. Justice Okoro noted that the appeals were interlocutory and advised the appellants to return to the Court of Appeal for the substantive case before approaching the Supreme Court.
Recognizing the court’s stance, the appellants’ lawyer, S. A. Somiari, SAN, withdrew the appeal, and the EFCC’s legal team, led by Abubakar Mahmud, SAN, did not object. Justice Okoro then ruled, “The appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.”
With this ruling, the EFCC can now proceed with its long-delayed investigation into Odili’s administration, bringing an end to years of legal battles over the case.
