The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from inviting or investigating Kayode Fayemi and other officials over the public accounts of Ekiti State, including the Ekiti Airport Project.
Justice Peter O. Affen delivered the unanimous judgment on May 8, 2026, according to the Certified True Copy of the ruling.
The case stems from allegations of money laundering and embezzlement linked to the airport project. While a lower court had earlier granted some reliefs—ruling that the EFCC could not compel Fayemi to publicly display placards of alleged offences without conviction—it declined to stop the agency from investigating the state’s finances.
Dissatisfied, Fayemi and the Ekiti State Attorney General appealed the decision.
Delivering judgment, the appellate court held that the EFCC was not at liberty to continue its investigative activities against Fayemi and other officials on matters relating to the state’s accounts.
The court ruled that the Commission could not rely on provisions of its enabling law to override an existing constitutional interpretation by a competent court, noting that the Constitution takes precedence.
It further held that the appropriate course of action for the EFCC was to appeal the earlier judgment rather than disregard it.
Consequently, the court barred the anti-graft agency from inviting Fayemi, the state’s Attorney General, the former Commissioner for Finance, and other officials over contracts, income, and expenditures of the Ekiti State Government.
The court also ruled that the responsibility for auditing and investigating the state’s public accounts rests exclusively with the Auditor-General of Ekiti State and the Ekiti State House of Assembly.
The dispute dates back to 2022 when the EFCC began investigating allegations tied to the Ekiti Airport Project. In May 2023, a petition accused Fayemi of abuse of office, contract inflation, and misappropriation of funds, prompting the Commission to invite him for questioning.
However, state authorities argued that a prior Federal High Court judgment had already barred the EFCC from probing the state’s accounts. Despite this, the agency reportedly continued its investigation, leading to the legal battle.
The Ekiti State Airport at the centre of the controversy was inaugurated in October 2022, with the project awarded to China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC). Questions had been raised by civic groups over the transparency and financing of the project.
In a related development, a Federal High Court in Abuja had earlier ruled that the detention of a former state procurement official by the EFCC during the investigation violated his fundamental rights.