The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has found the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) liable for defamation against the former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, and ordered the anti-graft agency to pay N10 million in damages.
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Peter Kekemeke ruled that a publication posted by the EFCC on its official website and X (formerly Twitter) account was false, malicious, and highly injurious to the former minister’s reputation.
The contentious publication was titled: “EFCC arraigns Agunloye over $6 billion fraud.”
Dr. Agunloye had approached the court in 2024 through his counsel, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), seeking N1 billion in general and exemplary damages. He argued that the EFCC’s headline dragged his integrity into the murky waters of public opinion by wrongly portraying him as a reckless and corrupt official who embezzled billions.
Reviewing the active criminal charges filed against Agunloye at the Apo Division of the FCT High Court, Justice Kekemeke highlighted that none of the counts alleged a $6 billion fraud. The criminal case actually centers on seven counts of official corruption and fraudulent acts linked to the 2003 award of the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Station contract, which Agunloye maintains was approved by former President Olusegun Obasanjo at zero cost to the government.
The judge castigated the EFCC for employing a “sensational headline” that failed to fairly reflect the actual court proceedings.
“The EFCC is an investigative agency, not a news agency,” Justice Kekemeke stated, adding that the commission was fully aware the claimant was never accused of a $6 billion fraud, making the publication reckless and malicious.
Beyond the N10 million monetary fine, the court ordered the EFCC to complete removal of the libelous publication from all official channels, with an unreserved public apology published on the EFCC’s official website and in two national newspapers.
The court granted a permanent restraint barring the commission from issuing further defamatory statements against Dr. Agunloye.
The anti-graft agency’s sole witness during the trial, Assistant Commissioner of Police Umar Hussain Babangida, had initially denied knowledge of the post before conceding it was generated by the commission’s media department.
Reacting swiftly to the verdict, counsel to the EFCC, Dr. Wahab Shittu (SAN), announced that the anti-graft watchdog will challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, contending that the defamation suit was premature given that Agunloye’s criminal trial is still ongoing.
