Justice M.A. Onyetenu of the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has dismissed a suit filed in 2017 by the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Uwemedimo Nwoko. The suit challenged the statutory powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the financial activities of the state government.
Delivering the judgment on Thursday, 8 October 2026, Justice Onyetenu upheld a preliminary objection filed by the Commission’s legal team and dismissed the entire suit. The ruling follows a protracted legal contest that began nearly a decade earlier.
The matter originated in 2016 when some indigenes of Akwa Ibom State petitioned the Office of the Executive Chairman of the EFCC. They alleged that state resources had been diverted for purposes other than the welfare and development of the state. The Commission commenced investigation and invited certain government officials for questioning.
Rather than honouring the invitations, the officials, through the state Attorney General, approached the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene. They challenged the Commission’s actions and joined other federal government agencies in the suit. While that matter remained pending, the Attorney General instituted a separate suit at the Federal High Court.
On 6 July 2016, the late Honourable Justice F.O. Riman granted an interim restraining order preventing the EFCC and other federal agencies from proceeding pending determination of the case. The order was later relied upon to resist the Commission’s invitations to state officials. An appeal against the restraining order proved unsuccessful. The Court of Appeal directed the parties to return to the trial court and await the outcome of the substantive suit.
In response, EFCC counsel Joshua Abolarin filed a preliminary objection. He argued that the federal suit was incompetent because a similar action instituted before the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene remained pending and undetermined. Justice Onyetenu agreed with this position and struck out the entire case.
The decision clears a significant legal obstacle that had delayed the Commission’s investigation into the alleged diversion of state resources. Legal practitioner Inibehe Effiong described the lawsuit as frivolous and dubious, stating that it should never have been filed. He commended the EFCC legal team for the victory and urged the Commission to proceed swiftly against former governors and officials of Akwa Ibom State who face corruption allegations. He noted that the officials had sought to use the courts as a shield after allegedly misappropriating public resources, while regretting that the suit took so long to dismiss.
By A.Ikechukwu
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