A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has awarded ₦10 million in damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defaming former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, through publications on its website and social media platforms.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, Justice Peter Kekemeke held that the EFCC published false and libellous claims suggesting that Agunloye was being prosecuted for fraud, a claim the court found to be unsupported by the charges filed against him.
Agunloye had instituted the suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/1199/2024, through his counsel, Adeola Adedipe, challenging an EFCC publication titled “EFCC Arraigns Agunloye Over $6 Billion Fraud.”
Justice Kekemeke ruled that the claimant successfully established the essential elements of defamation, noting that the publication was made in a permanent form, clearly identified Agunloye, and was capable of damaging his reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of the public.
The judge observed that the EFCC’s sole witness, Assistant Commissioner of Police Umar Hussain Babangida, initially denied knowledge of the publication before later admitting it was issued by the commission’s media department.
He further held that the suit was not an attempt to challenge the EFCC’s statutory powers to investigate financial crimes, as argued by the commission, but rather a complaint about the false description of the criminal charges against the former minister.
After reviewing the charge pending before another FCT High Court in Apo, Justice Kekemeke found no allegation of fraud against Agunloye, describing the EFCC’s headline as “sensational” and unsupported by the court records.
He ruled that the commission failed to prove the truth of the publication, adding that the report neither fairly nor accurately reflected the court proceedings.
The judge also noted that while the EFCC is an investigative agency, it is not a news organisation, and ought to have known that Agunloye was neither charged with a $6 billion fraud nor any fraud-related offence.
Consequently, the court declared the publications on the EFCC’s official website and X account to be false and defamatory, ordered the commission to retract them and publish a public apology on its website and in two national newspapers.
Justice Kekemeke also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from making further defamatory publications against Agunloye and awarded ₦10 million in damages in his favour.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the EFCC, Wahab Shittu, said the commission would challenge the decision at the Court of Appeal.
Shittu argued that the defamation suit was premature because Agunloye’s criminal trial remains pending before another High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
