Akwa Ibom’s Legal Challenge To EFCC Investigation Fails As Court Upholds Preliminary Objection
By ARIT OTONG UBOK
THE Federal High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has dismissed a suit filed by the state government challenging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) authority to investigate the state’s financial activities.
According to the commission, Justice M.A. Onyetenu dismissed the case on 8 October 2026, after upholding a preliminary objection by its legal team. The objection argued that the suit was procedurally defective because a similar case had already been instituted at the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene.
Dispute Traces Back to 2016
The legal dispute began in 2016 after some residents petitioned the EFCC over allegations that public resources meant for citizens’ welfare and development had been diverted.
Following the petitions, the commission said it opened an investigation and invited some state government officials for questioning. However, rather than honour the invitations, the officials approached the Akwa Ibom State High Court through the state Attorney-General, challenging the commission’s actions.
The state government subsequently filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court, contesting the EFCC’s authority to investigate its financial activities.
In the course of the dispute, the late Justice F.O. Riman granted an interim restraining order on 6 July 2016, against the EFCC and other federal government agencies, according to the commission. The order remained a key element of the legal confrontation, as the state relied on it to resist attempts to invite officials for questioning.
Although an appeal against the restraining order was unsuccessful, the Court of Appeal reportedly directed the parties to return to the trial court and await the determination of the substantive case.
EFCC Challenges the Suit’s Competence
The commission later challenged the competence of the federal action, arguing that the earlier case at the state high court remained pending when the government instituted the subsequent suit.
EFCC counsel Joshua Abolarin maintained that the existence of the earlier proceeding rendered the federal action procedurally defective. Justice Onyetenu upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed the suit in its entirety, the commission said.
The action had been instituted in 2017 by Uwemedimo Nwoko, the state’s then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, following the investigation into allegations of financial misconduct.
What the Judgment Means
The ruling represents a procedural victory for the EFCC in its prolonged legal dispute with the Akwa Ibom government. By dismissing the case on the grounds raised in the preliminary objection, the court removed the federal suit as a vehicle for the state’s challenge to the commission’s investigation.
Nevertheless, the decision should not be interpreted as proof that public funds were diverted or that any state official committed a crime. Rather, the reported basis of the dismissal concerned the competence of the proceedings in light of the earlier suit.
Furthermore, the EFCC’s announcement does not establish whether the separate case at the Akwa Ibom State High Court has since been resolved. Nor does the dismissal, by itself, settle every question surrounding the commission’s investigative powers.
The outcome therefore closes this particular federal court proceeding, subject to any further legal steps available to the parties. Meanwhile, the allegations that triggered the investigation remain distinct from the procedural issue that led to the suit’s dismissal.
