The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, has dismissed a suit filed by the state government challenging the statutory powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the financial activities of the state government.
Justice M. A. Onyetenu delivered the ruling on Thursday, October 8, 2026, upholding a preliminary objection filed by the EFCC’s legal team.
The suit was instituted in 2017 by the then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Akwa Ibom State, Uwemedimo Nwoko, challenging the Commission’s authority to investigate the state government’s financial activities.
The dispute originated in 2016 after some indigenes of the state petitioned the EFCC over alleged diversion of state resources for purposes other than the welfare and development of the state.
Following the petition, the Commission commenced an investigation and invited some government officials for questioning. Rather than honouring the invitation, the officials approached the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene through the state Attorney-General to challenge the Commission’s actions.
The Attorney-General subsequently instituted another suit at the Federal High Court, joining other federal government agencies in the case and challenging the EFCC’s authority to investigate the state government’s financial activities.
On July 6, 2016, the Attorney-General obtained an interim restraining order from the late Justice F. O. Riman, restraining the Commission and other federal government agencies pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The order was later relied upon in challenging the EFCC’s attempts to invite state officials for questioning.
An appeal against the restraining order was unsuccessful, as the Court of Appeal directed the parties to return to the trial court and await the determination of the substantive suit.
In response to the federal suit, EFCC counsel Joshua Abolarin filed a preliminary objection challenging its competence. The objection was based on the argument that a similar suit instituted at the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene was still pending and had not been determined before the federal action was commenced.
In his ruling on October 8, Justice Onyetenu upheld the preliminary objection and dismissed the suit.
The decision marks a development in the protracted legal dispute over the EFCC’s investigative powers in relation to the financial activities of the Akwa Ibom State Government.
