From Our Reporter
The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has perpetually restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from inviting former Governor Kayode Fayemi and “any former or serving public official of the state over investigative activities relating to the “public accounts of Ekiti State,” including the Ekiti Airport Project.
Justice Peter O. Affen delivered the judgment in a unanimous decision on May 8, 2026, according to the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment seen by Nairametrics.
The legal dispute is linked to alleged money laundering and embezzlement of funds connected with the Ekiti Airport Project.
Nairametrics reports that the trial court, had partly granted the reliefs sought by the Attorney General of the state and Fayemi against the EFCC, holding that the Commission could not compel Fayemi to carry placards bearing inscriptions of alleged offences when he had not been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction.
However, the trial court struck out their remaining reliefs, which, among other things, sought an order perpetually restraining the EFCC from investigating Fayemi and other public officials over the state’s accounts and expenditures in view of a subsisting judgment.
Dissatisfied with that portion of the judgment, the appellants’ counsel, Chief R. O. Balogun, SAN, filed an appeal.
What the Appeal Court said
Delivering the verdict, Justice Affen held that the EFCC was not at liberty to undertake the investigative activities it purported to carry out against Fayemi and several state officials.
The judge held that the Commission could not rely on provisions of the EFCC Act “to override a subsisting constitutional interpretation given by a court of competent jurisdiction since the Constitution takes precedence.”
The Court of Appeal further held that the only option available to the EFCC was to appeal the subsisting judgment of the trial court and not “disobey or disregard it.”
Consequently, the court perpetually restrained the EFCC from inviting or further inviting Fayemi, the Attorney General of the state, the former Commissioner for Finance, and other officials on “the premise of any contract, income and expenditures of the Ekiti State Government.”
The Court of Appeal also held that the responsibilities of auditing and investigating the public accounts of the Ekiti State Government are “constitutionally and exclusively vested in the Auditor-General of Ekiti State and the Ekiti State House of Assembly.”
Consequently, the court granted Reliefs 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11, and 13, which had previously been struck out by the trial court.
Backstory
In 2022, the EFCC commenced discreet investigations into intelligence reports regarding alleged money laundering and embezzlement of funds relating to the Ekiti State Airport Project.
On May 10, 2023, the EFCC was said to have received a formal petition from the Ekiti Patriotic Consultative Forum alleging abuse of office, contract inflation, and misappropriation of funds against Kayode Fayemi.
Following the petition, the EFCC initiated an investigation and invited the former governor to provide clarification on the allegations.
At the time, the Attorney General of Ekiti State responded by drawing the Commission’s attention to a subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court (per Justice Taiwo Taiwo) in Suit No. FHC/AD/CS/32/2016, maintaining that the judgment prohibited the EFCC from investigating the public accounts, finances, or officials of the Ekiti State Government.
However, the EFCC was said to have insisted on continuing with the investigation and specifically requested the Accountant-General and other government officials to produce financial records relating to appropriations, monthly allocations, tax refunds, and the state’s internally generated revenue.
The development subsequently resulted in litigation.
What You Should Know
The Ekiti State Airport at the centre of the dispute was inaugurated for public use after the first aircraft landed at the facility on October 15, 2022.
The project was awarded to the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).
However, a civic group questioned the transparency of the project and urged the state government to release the financial records and loan details relating to the Ekiti International Cargo Airport Project.
In December 2025, a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja described the three-day incarceration of the former Director-General of the Ekiti State Bureau of Public Procurement, O’Seun Odewale, by the EFCC over its probe into the alleged embezzlement of Ekiti State funds earmarked for the airport project as a violation of his fundamental rights. {Source: Nairametrics}