After 17 years of legal battles, the Supreme Court has finally cleared the EFCC to investigate Peter Odili’s tenure as Rivers State Governor. With speculations of political vendetta circulating. Read full details now.
The Supreme Court of Nigeria has paved the way for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the tenure of former Rivers State Governor, Dr. Peter Odili, in what many suspect to be a politically motivated move linked to the ongoing power struggle within Rivers State.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice John Okoro, on Monday, March 10, 2025, dismissed appeals filed by the Attorney General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, challenging the EFCC’s right to contest a 2007 order of perpetual injunction that had shielded Odili from investigation. This ruling effectively reopens the probe into the financial dealings of Rivers State during Odili’s administration from 1999 to 2007.
In 2007, as his tenure as governor ended, Dr. Peter Odili secured a controversial perpetual injunction from the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, barring the EFCC from investigating, arresting, or prosecuting him. The order also prohibited the anti-graft agency from scrutinizing the finances of Rivers State during his administration, effectively giving him immunity from prosecution.
Since then, the EFCC has been locked in a prolonged legal battle to overturn the injunction. In 2018, the Court of Appeal granted the EFCC the right to challenge the order, prompting the Rivers State Government and House of Assembly to appeal to the Supreme Court.
When the case was heard on March 10, 2025, the Supreme Court Justices questioned the merit of the appeal, emphasizing that it was an interlocutory matter that should be handled at the appellate court level before reaching the apex court.
Justice Okoro, who presided over the panel, pointedly told the litigants, “This is not the type of appeal we hear here.” Recognizing the futility of the case, the legal representative of the Rivers State Government, S. A. Somiari (SAN), applied to withdraw the appeal, which was not opposed by the EFCC’s legal team led by Abubakar Mahmud (SAN). Consequently, the Supreme Court dismissed the case, clearing the way for the EFCC to proceed with its probe into Peter
Odili’s administration.
This ruling has sparked controversy, with some political observers linking it to Peter Odili’s perceived support for Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara in his political rift with Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Anonymous sources speculate that Wike, who still wields influence in the judiciary and federal government circles, may have played a role in ensuring that the EFCC finally got the green light to go after Odili. The timing of the ruling, coinciding with the escalating political crisis in Rivers State, has further fueled speculation that the anti-graft probe is a strategic tool to weaken Fubara’s camp.
With this ruling, the EFCC now has the legal backing to probe Peter Odili’s eight-year tenure, a development that could reshape the political landscape in Rivers State and beyond.
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