In a judgment that raises fresh questions about the limits of public communication by anti-corruption agencies, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Wednesday found the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) liable for defaming former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, and ordered it to pay him ₦10 million in damages.
Justice Peter Kekemeke, sitting at the Maitama Division of the FCT High Court, held that the commission falsely portrayed Agunloye as being prosecuted for a “$6 billion fraud” through a publication on its official website and X (formerly Twitter) account, despite the criminal charge before the court containing no allegation of fraud.
The judge described the headline—”EFCC Arraigns Agunloye Over $6 Billion Fraud”—as sensational, inaccurate and incapable of being justified by the actual charges filed against the former minister.
The decision followed a defamation suit filed by Agunloye, who argued that the publication damaged his reputation, portrayed him as a corrupt public official and exposed him to public ridicule.
In a detailed judgment, Justice Kekemeke held that the essential ingredients of defamation had been established, noting that the publication was made in permanent form, specifically referred to the claimant and was capable of lowering his reputation in the estimation of right-thinking members of society.
The court said a careful examination of the criminal information pending before the Apo Division of the FCT High Court showed that Agunloye was not facing any count of fraud, making the EFCC’s publication materially false.
“There is nowhere in the charge where the claimant is accused of fraud,” the judge held, adding that the anti-graft agency failed to prove the truth of the publication.
Justice Kekemeke stressed that while the EFCC possesses unquestionable statutory powers to investigate and prosecute economic crimes, those powers do not extend to publishing misleading accounts of ongoing court proceedings.
He noted that the case before him was not an attempt to challenge the commission’s investigative mandate but to determine whether its public communication had unlawfully injured the claimant’s reputation.
The court also relied on the testimony of the EFCC’s sole witness, Assistant Commissioner of Police Umar Hussain Babangida, who eventually admitted during cross-examination that the controversial publication originated from the commission’s media department after initially denying knowledge of it.
The judge held that the commission knew Agunloye was neither charged with nor standing trial for a $6 billion fraud, yet chose to publish a headline suggesting otherwise.
According to the court, that conduct established malice.
Justice Kekemeke consequently declared the publication false and defamatory, ordered the EFCC to immediately retract it from its official website and X handle, and directed the commission to publish an unreserved apology on its website and in two national newspapers.
The court further issued a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from making similar defamatory publications against the former minister and awarded Agunloye ₦10 million as damages.
Outside the courtroom, counsel to the EFCC, Dr. Wahab Shittu, SAN, rejected the verdict, insisting that the commission would challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.
Shittu argued that the defamation action was premature because the substantive criminal case against Agunloye remains pending before the High Court.
“Though the court has delivered its judgment, we are definitely going to appeal the decision,” the senior advocate said.