Supreme Court Dismisses Rivers AG And Speaker’s Appeals, Upholds EFCC’s Right To Probe Ex-Gov. Odili

Odili had, in 2007, obtain 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.

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.”

Read Also: I won’t apologise to Odili, Wike vows
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 was not opposed by lawyer to the EFCC, Abubakar Mahmud and his counterpart for the other respondents, B. O. Obialo did not oppose.

Ruling, Justice Okoro said: “Appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.”

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