Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed two appeals filed by the Attorney-General of Rivers State and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
These appeals sought to overturn the permission granted to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to challenge a prior court order that barred the investigation of Peter Odili’s tenure as governor.
In 2007, Odili secured a court injunction that prohibited the EFCC from conducting investigations or arrests related to him. He served as the governor of Rivers State from 1999, when Nigeria transitioned back to democracy, until 2007, representing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The injunction also prevented the EFCC from probing the financial activities of the Rivers State government during his administration.
The EFCC subsequently sought permission from the Court of Appeal to contest the federal high court’s decision beyond the usual timeframe. The appellate court granted this request, which led the Rivers State Attorney-General and the Speaker of the Assembly to escalate the case to the Supreme Court.
During the appeal hearing on Monday, designated SC/CV/318/2018, a five-member panel led by Justice John Okoro examined the details of the case. I.A. Somiari, representing the appellant, indicated to the panel that the case was an interlocutory appeal challenging the appellate court’s decision to permit the EFCC to appeal the 2007 orders issued by the federal high court.
But Okoro injected without letting Somiari fully outline the appeal’s relevance, stating, “This is not the type of appeal we hear here.”
He advised all parties to return to the court of appeal to have the substantive appeal heard before proceeding to the supreme court.
Acknowledging the court’s position, Somiari applied to withdraw the appeal.
Abubakar Mahmud, the EFCC’s representative, Sylvanus Tahir and B. O. Obialo, representing other respondents, did not oppose the application.
The court ruled that the “appeal is dismissed, having been withdrawn without any objection.”
A similar approach was taken with appeal SC/CV/447/2018, filed by the speaker of the Rivers state house of assembly.
