The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from inviting or investigating former Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, and serving or former state officials over the management of the state’s public finances.
The court also barred the anti-graft agency from continuing its investigation into contracts, expenditure and other transactions connected with the controversial Ekiti Airport project.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on May 8, 2026, Justice Peter Affen held that the EFCC could not disregard an existing court decision restricting its powers in relation to the state’s public accounts.
The appellate court consequently issued a perpetual injunction against the commission.
According to the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, the court held that the EFCC could not rely on provisions of its establishing law to override a subsisting constitutional interpretation made by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The case arose from investigations into allegations of money laundering, contract inflation, abuse of office and diversion of public funds linked to the Ekiti Airport project executed during Fayemi’s administration.
An earlier trial court decision had partly favoured Fayemi and the Ekiti State Attorney-General by ruling that the commission could not compel the former governor to carry placards containing allegations of criminal conduct before his conviction by a competent court.
The lower court, however, refused to permanently prevent the EFCC from investigating Fayemi and other state officials over the handling of Ekiti’s finances.
Dissatisfied with that part of the judgment, the appellants, through their lawyer, Chief R.O. Balogun, SAN, approached the Court of Appeal.
In overturning the trial court’s decision, the appellate court ruled that the EFCC was not entitled to continue investigative steps already initiated against Fayemi and the affected officials.
Justice Affen held that if the commission disagreed with the earlier Federal High Court judgment, it ought to have challenged the decision on appeal rather than act contrary to it.
The court therefore restrained the EFCC from inviting or further inviting Fayemi, the state Attorney-General, a former Commissioner for Finance, the Accountant-General and other officials over contracts, income, expenditure and related financial activities of the state government.
The court also ruled that the constitutional responsibility for auditing and investigating the public accounts of the Ekiti State Government rested with the state Auditor-General and the House of Assembly.
It consequently granted several reliefs previously rejected by the trial court, effectively stopping the disputed investigation.
The dispute began in 2022 when the EFCC commenced what it described as discreet investigations into alleged financial irregularities connected with the airport project.
On May 10, 2023, the commission received a petition from the Ekiti Patriotic Consultative Forum alleging abuse of office, contract inflation and diversion of public funds against Fayemi.
The petition prompted the EFCC to invite the former governor and request explanations regarding the allegations.
The Ekiti State Attorney-General, however, drew the commission’s attention to an earlier judgment delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/AD/CS/32/2016.
The state argued that the judgment prevented the EFCC from investigating Ekiti’s public accounts and finances.
Despite the objection, the commission reportedly continued requesting documents concerning state appropriations, federal allocations, tax refunds and internally generated revenue, leading to fresh litigation.
The Ekiti Airport project was inaugurated on October 15, 2022, after the first aircraft landed at the facility.
The project, handled by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, attracted sustained scrutiny over its cost, funding arrangements and procurement process.
Although the facility was inaugurated shortly before the end of Fayemi’s tenure, some important infrastructure, including the air traffic control tower, had not been completed.
Commercial operations eventually commenced in December 2025 under Governor Biodun Oyebanji.
Oyebanji later disclosed that the project cost about ₦49.7bn, with Fayemi’s administration reportedly spending approximately ₦14bn and the current government committing more than ₦34bn to complete it.
In a related case, the Federal High Court in Abuja ruled in December 2025 that the EFCC violated the fundamental rights of the former Director-General of the Ekiti State Bureau of Public Procurement, O’Seun Odewale.
The court found that his three-day detention during the airport investigation was unlawful.
Fayemi had also been questioned by the commission in June 2023 over a separate alleged ₦4bn money laundering case.
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