Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has filed a notice of appeal at the Court of Appeal in Abuja against the judgment of Justice Peter Kekemeke of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, which found the anti-graft agency liable for defaming former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, over a social media publication alleging a $6 billion Mambilla Power Project fraud. The notice of appeal was filed on Friday, 10 July 2026, by counsel to the EFCC, Wahab Shittu, SAN.
In the appeal, contained in Suit No. FCT/HC/CV/1199/2024, the EFCC expressed dissatisfaction with the whole of the judgment delivered by Justice Kekemeke on 8 July 2026. Specifically, the appeal was hinged on 11 grounds and four different orders. The commission is seeking orders allowing the appeal, setting aside the whole of the judgment, dismissing Agunloye's claim before the trial court in its entirety, and any other order the court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of the appeal.
Justice Kekemeke had declared in his judgment that the EFCC's publication on Agunloye was false, defamatory, and injurious to the former minister's reputation, and awarded N10 million in damages against the commission. The court also ordered the EFCC to retract the publication and issue a public apology on its website and in two widely circulated national newspapers, and granted a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC, its officers, agents, or privies from publishing or causing to be published any further defamatory statements against Agunloye in relation to the allegations.
In the appeal, Shittu also filed a stay of execution of the judgment of the trial court pending the determination of the appeal. Agunloye is currently facing criminal charges over the award of the Mambilla hydroelectric power contract to Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited without budgetary provision, approval, and cash backing. However, the judgment does not determine the merits of any pending criminal proceedings against him, but is limited to the defamatory nature of the EFCC's publication and the injury it caused to his reputation.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the appeal. The EFCC had earlier indicated its intention to appeal the judgment. The outcome of the appeal is expected to have significant implications for how public institutions communicate allegations against individuals before they are established in court. As of the time of filing this report, neither the EFCC nor Agunloye had publicly commented on the appeal.
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