Justice Affen held that the proper course available to the commission, if dissatisfied with the earlier Federal High Court decision, was to challenge it on appeal rather than ignore or act contrary to it.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has issued a perpetual injunction restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from inviting or investigating former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and other current or former state officials over matters relating to the state's public accounts, including the controversial Ekiti Airport Project.
The appellate court, in a unanimous judgement delivered on May 8, 2026, by Justice Peter O. Affen, held that the anti-graft agency lacked the legal authority to continue its investigation in view of an existing court judgement limiting its powers in relation to the state's public finances.
According to the Certified True Copy of the judgement obtained by Nairametrics, the court ruled that the EFCC could not rely on provisions of the EFCC Act to override a subsisting constitutional interpretation already made by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The case stemmed from the EFCC's investigation into allegations of money laundering, contract inflation, abuse of office and embezzlement linked to the Ekiti Airport Project executed during Fayemi's administration.
