A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama, Abuja, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pay former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, N10 million in damages for a defamatory publication made on the commission’s official platforms.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Peter Kekemeke held that the EFCC’s posts—published on its website and X (formerly Twitter) with the caption “EFCC Arraigns Agunloye over $6billion fraud”—were libelous and damaged Agunloye’s reputation. The judge found that the publication met the elements of defamation, noting it was in permanent form, expressly referred to Agunloye, and was capable of lowering him in the estimation of reasonable members of the public.
Agunloye had filed a N1 billion defamation suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/1199/2024, through his counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, arguing that the EFCC portrayed him as corrupt by linking him to a $6 billion fraud in its “sensational headline.” He sought a court declaration that the post was false and defamatory, an order for retraction and public apology, and monetary damages.
In his ruling, Justice Kekemeke observed that the EFCC’s sole witness, Assistant Commissioner of Police Umar Hussain Babangida, initially denied knowledge of the publication but later admitted it originated from the commission’s media department. The court stressed that the case did not question the EFCC’s statutory powers to investigate economic and financial crimes. However, having reviewed the criminal charge against Agunloye before the Apo Division of the FCT High Court, the judge said there was no allegation of fraud in the charge or in any of the exhibits presented, contrary to the EFCC’s public claim.
The court held that the EFCC failed to prove the truth of its publication and that the headline did not represent the court proceedings. Justice Kekemeke added that the EFCC is an investigative agency, not a news organization, and found that malice had been established by the claimant.
Consequently, the court declared the publication false and defamatory, ordered the EFCC to retract it, and directed the commission to issue a public apology on its website and in two national newspapers. A perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from further defaming Agunloye was also granted, alongside an award of N10 million in damages.
Reacting to the judgment, EFCC counsel Dr. Wahab Shittu, SAN, said the commission would appeal, arguing that the suit was premature because the criminal proceedings against Agunloye had not yet been concluded. “Though the court has delivered its judgement, we are definitely going to appeal the court’s decision,” he said.
