The Supreme Court has dismissed two separate appeals filed by the Attorney-General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, which sought to overturn the leave granted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to challenge an order that blocked the investigation of Peter Odili’s tenure as the state’s governor.
In 2007, Odili, who served as governor from 1999 to 2007 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), secured a court injunction that prohibited the EFCC from investigating or arresting him. The court order also barred the EFCC from probing the finances of the Rivers state government during his time in office.
In response, the EFCC sought permission from the Court of Appeal to challenge the Federal High Court’s ruling beyond the designated timeframe. The appellate court granted this request, a decision that prompted the Rivers State Attorney-General and the Speaker of the House of Assembly to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court.
During the hearing on Monday, which was marked as SC/CV/318/2018, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro, requested further clarification on the substance of the case. The appellant’s lawyer, I. A. Somiari, attempted to explain that the appeal was interlocutory, challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision to allow the EFCC to challenge the 2007 orders. However, Justice Okoro interjected before Somiari could fully elaborate on the matter, stating, “This is not the type of appeal we hear here,” and advised the parties to return to the Court of Appeal to address the substantive appeal before coming to the Supreme Court.
Acknowledging the court’s position, Somiari applied to withdraw the appeal, a motion that was unopposed by the EFCC’s representative, Abubakar Mahmud, and other respondents’ lawyers, Sylvanus Tahir and B.O. Obialo. The court subsequently ruled that the appeal was dismissed as it had been withdrawn without objection.
The court also dismissed a similar appeal, SC/CV/447/2018, filed by the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, following the same approach.
