Justice Peter Kekemeke of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has awarded ₦10 million in damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defaming former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, through a publication on its official website and social media platform, X.
The court also ordered the anti-graft agency to withdraw the publication, issue a public apology to Agunloye, and publish the apology on its official website as well as in two national newspapers.
The judgment followed a defamation suit filed by Agunloye after the EFCC published a report with the headline, “EFCC Arraigns Agunloye Over $6 Billion Fraud.” The former minister argued that the publication falsely portrayed him as a corrupt and fraudulent person and damaged his reputation.
Agunloye had approached the court in suit number FCT/HC/CV/1199/2024, asking for several reliefs, including a declaration that the publication was false and defamatory, an order directing the EFCC to retract it and apologise, and compensation running into billions of naira for the damage caused to his reputation.
Although he sought much higher damages, the court awarded him ₦10 million.
In his judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Kekemeke held that the publication met all the legal conditions required to establish defamation.
According to the judge, for a statement to amount to defamation, it must be published in a permanent form, refer to a particular person, and be capable of lowering that person’s reputation in the eyes of reasonable members of the public.
The court held that all these conditions had been satisfied in the case.
Justice Kekemeke noted that the publication was made on the EFCC’s official website and X handle, making it a permanent publication that was accessible to members of the public.
He also pointed out that Agunloye was clearly identified by name in the publication, leaving no doubt about who the report referred to.
The judge said the evidence before the court showed that the publication did not accurately reflect the criminal charges filed against the former minister.
According to him, after carefully examining the charge pending before the Apo Division of the FCT High Court, there was no allegation accusing Agunloye of committing a “$6 billion fraud” as stated in the EFCC’s publication.
Justice Kekemeke described the headline used by the commission as “sensational” and held that the anti-graft agency failed to establish that the statement it published was true.
He added that none of the documents tendered before the court during the hearing supported the allegation of fraud contained in the publication.
The judge also referred to the testimony of the EFCC’s only witness, Assistant Commissioner of Police Umar Hussain Babangida.
According to the court, the witness initially denied knowledge of the publication but later admitted during cross-examination that it originated from the commission’s media department.
Justice Kekemeke stressed that the case was not an attempt to question the statutory powers of the EFCC to investigate or prosecute economic and financial crimes.
Instead, he said the issue before the court was whether the commission had published a false statement capable of damaging Agunloye’s reputation.
He held that the commission knew that the former minister had not been charged with any offence involving a $6 billion fraud, yet it chose to publish the headline.
The court therefore concluded that malice had been established against the EFCC.
Justice Kekemeke declared the publication on the commission’s official website and X handle false and defamatory.
He ordered the EFCC to immediately retract the publication and publish an unreserved apology to Agunloye on its website and in two national daily newspapers.
The court also issued a perpetual injunction restraining the commission from making further defamatory publications against the former minister.
In addition, the judge awarded ₦10 million as damages in favour of Agunloye.
The case is linked to the ongoing criminal proceedings involving Agunloye over the award of the contract for the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project, one of Nigeria’s biggest planned electricity projects.
The EFCC had filed criminal charges against the former minister over decisions taken during his time in office concerning the controversial power project.
The commission alleges that due process was not followed in the award of the contract. However, Agunloye has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The criminal trial remains pending before another court and has not yet been concluded.
The defamation judgment does not determine Agunloye’s guilt or innocence in the criminal case. Instead, it focuses on whether the EFCC’s public statements accurately reflected the charges before the court.
The judgment also serves as a reminder that government agencies, despite their statutory powers, can be held liable if they publish information that unfairly damages the reputation of individuals.
Reacting to the decision shortly after the judgment, counsel to the EFCC, Dr. Wahab Shittu (SAN), said the commission was not satisfied with the ruling and would challenge it at the Court of Appeal.
According to him, the defamation suit was filed while the substantive criminal case against Agunloye was still pending before the court.
Shittu argued that the action was premature because the criminal proceedings had not been concluded.
“Though the court has delivered its judgment, we are definitely going to appeal the court’s decision,” the senior advocate said.
The planned appeal means the legal battle between the former minister and the anti-corruption agency is far from over.
While the EFCC continues to pursue the criminal charges relating to the Mambilla power project, it will now also seek to overturn the High Court’s decision that found it liable for defamation.