A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama has awarded N10 million in damages against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defaming a former Minister of Power, Dr. Olu Agunloye, through some libellous publications on its website and social media handles.

In a judgment yesterday, Justice Peter Kekemeke found that the EFCC defamed Agunloye for claiming that the ex-minister was being prosecuted over fraud, which turned out to be untrue.

Agunloye had filed the suit through his lawyer, Adeola Adedipe (SAN), claiming to have been defamed in the EFCC publications titled: “EFCC arraigns Agunloye over $6 billion fraud.”

Justice Kekemeke held that the claimant sufficiently established the elements of defamation through the evidence he presented in court.

He identified such elements of defamation to include publication of a statement in permanent form; the publication refers to someone; it injures the person’s reputation in the sight of reasonable members of the public.

The judge held that in Agunloye’s case, the contentious publication was in permanent form and the claimant’s name was mentioned.

He found that EFCC’s sole witness in the case – Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Umar Hussain Babangida – after initially denying knowledge of the publication, later admitted that the defendant’s media department made it.

Justice Kekemeke said Agunloye’s case was not a challenge of EFCC’s power to investigate economic and financial crime as claimed by the defendant.

The judge stated that, having gone through the charge in the criminal case against the claimant before the High Court of the FCT in Apo, he saw nowhere in it that mentioned fraud, contrary to the EFCC’s publication.

He noted that the issue of fraud was not in any of the exhibits tendered before the court in the course of hearing the case, describing the title of the publication in issue as a “sensational headline”. 

Justice Kekemeke, who found that EFCC failed to prove the truth in the said publication, held that it was not fair and did not represent proceedings in court.

He noted that the EFCC is not a news agency, but an investigative agency, adding that the defendant knew that Agunloye is not involved in a fraud of $6 billion or any fraud at all.

The judge held that the claimant effectively established malice and proceeded to resolve the two issues for determination against the defendant and entered judgment in Agunloye’s favour.

Justice Kekemeke declared that the contentious publications made on EFCC’s official website and X handle was false and defamatory.

He ordered the defendant to retract the publication and offer a public apology to the claimant on its website and in two national dailies.

The judge, who issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC from further defaming the claimant, awarded N10 million damages against the commission.

Speaking on the court’s decision, EFCC’s lawyer, Dr. Wahab Shittu (SAN), said his client would appeal the judgment.

Shittu averred that though the court had made its pronouncement, the case was premature as the claimant’s criminal prosecution was still pending before another High Court of the FCT.

Source: The Nation News