The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to pay ₦10 million in damages to former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, for publishing what it described as a false and defamatory report linking him to a non-existent “$6 billion fraud.”
In a judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Peter Kekemeke held that the anti-graft agency acted maliciously when it published on its official website and X (formerly Twitter) handle the headline: “EFCC Arraigns Agunloye Over $6 Billion Fraud.”
The court ruled that the publication misrepresented the charges pending against Agunloye and unjustifiably tarnished his reputation.
Agunloye had instituted the suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/1199/2024, after arguing that the EFCC’s publication portrayed him as a corrupt and fraudulent public official despite the fact that the criminal charges filed against him did not contain any allegation of fraud.
He asked the court to declare the publication defamatory, compel the commission to retract it and issue a public apology, and award damages for the injury done to his reputation.
In his judgment, Justice Kekemeke held that all the legal ingredients of defamation had been established. He noted that the publication was permanent, clearly identified Agunloye, and was capable of lowering his estimation in the eyes of right-thinking members of society.
The judge said a careful examination of the criminal charge before the Apo Division of the FCT High Court revealed that Agunloye was never charged with “$6 billion fraud,” making the EFCC’s headline inaccurate and misleading.
Describing the publication as a “sensational headline,” the court held that the anti-graft agency failed to justify its claim or prove its truth during the proceedings.
Justice Kekemeke also rejected the EFCC’s argument that the suit was an attack on its statutory powers, stressing that the issue before the court was not the commission’s authority to investigate financial crimes but its responsibility to communicate facts truthfully and fairly.
The court further noted that the EFCC’s witness, Assistant Commissioner of Police Umar Hussain Babangida, eventually admitted under cross-examination that the controversial publication originated from the commission’s media department.
The judge ruled that the commission knew Agunloye was not standing trial for fraud, yet chose to publish a headline that suggested otherwise, a conduct the court found to be malicious.
Consequently, the court declared the publication false and defamatory, ordered the EFCC to immediately retract it from its website and X handle, and directed the commission to publish an unreserved apology on its website and in two national newspapers.
Justice Kekemeke also granted a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from making further defamatory publications against the former minister and awarded him ₦10 million in damages.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the EFCC, Dr. Wahab Shittu, SAN, said the commission would challenge the verdict at the Court of Appeal.
According to him, the defamation action ought not to have been determined while the substantive criminal proceedings against Agunloye were still pending.
“We are not satisfied with the judgment and will certainly appeal the decision,” the senior advocate said.