The Court of Appeal sitting in Ado-Ekiti has restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from inviting or investigating former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and current or former officials of the state government over matters relating to Ekiti State’s public accounts, including the controversial Ekiti Airport Project.
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In a unanimous judgment delivered on May 8, 2026, Justice Peter O. Affen held that the anti-graft agency could not continue its investigation in the face of a subsisting judgment of a competent court limiting its powers in relation to the finances and public accounts of the state.
The appellate court held that where the EFCC was dissatisfied with the earlier decision of the Federal High Court, the proper step was to challenge it on appeal, rather than ignore it or act contrary to its effect.
According to the Certified True Copy of the judgment, the court ruled that the EFCC could not rely on provisions of the EFCC Act to override a subsisting constitutional interpretation already made by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The case arose from EFCC’s investigation into allegations of money laundering, contract inflation, abuse of office and diversion of funds linked to the Ekiti Airport Project executed during Fayemi’s administration.
An earlier decision of the trial court had partly favoured Fayemi and the Ekiti State Attorney-General by holding that the EFCC could not compel the former governor to carry placards bearing allegations of criminal offences before conviction by a competent court.
However, the trial court refused to grant broader reliefs seeking to permanently stop the EFCC from investigating the former governor and other state officials over the management of Ekiti State’s finances.
Dissatisfied with that portion of the ruling, Fayemi and the Ekiti State Attorney-General, through their counsel, Chief R.O. Balogun, SAN, approached the Court of Appeal.
In overturning that aspect of the lower court’s judgment, the appellate court held that the EFCC was not at liberty to continue the investigative steps it had initiated against Fayemi and several serving and former officials of the state government.
The court consequently restrained the EFCC from inviting or further inviting Fayemi, the Ekiti State Attorney-General, the former Commissioner for Finance, the Accountant-General and other officials over contracts, income, expenditure and other financial activities of the Ekiti State Government.
The Court of Appeal further held that the constitutional responsibility for auditing and investigating the public accounts of the Ekiti State Government is vested in the Ekiti State Auditor-General and the Ekiti State House of Assembly.
It therefore granted several reliefs earlier refused by the trial court, effectively preventing the EFCC from continuing with the disputed investigation.
The dispute began in 2022 when the EFCC commenced what it described as discreet investigations into alleged financial crimes connected with the Ekiti Airport Project.
On May 10, 2023, the commission also 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 anti-graft agency to invite the former governor and request explanations over the allegations.
The Ekiti State Attorney-General, however, drew the EFCC’s attention to an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/AD/CS/32/2016, delivered by Justice Taiwo Taiwo, which the state argued barred the commission from investigating its public accounts and finances.
Despite the objection, the EFCC reportedly continued its investigation and requested financial records relating to state appropriations, federal allocations, tax refunds and internally generated revenue from government officials, leading to fresh litigation.
The Ekiti Airport Project, which remains at the centre of the legal dispute, was inaugurated for public use on October 15, 2022, after the first aircraft landed at the facility. The project was executed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.
The airport has attracted sustained public scrutiny, with civil society groups demanding full disclosure of the project’s cost, funding structure, loan agreements and procurement process.
In a related development, a Federal High Court in Abuja had in December 2025 ruled that the EFCC violated the fundamental rights of the former Director-General of the Ekiti State Bureau of Public Procurement, O’Seun Odewale, after detaining him for three days during investigations into the airport project.
There had also been media reports alleging links between funds meant for the Ekiti Airport Project and the financing of the multi-billion-naira Amandla Resort and Conference Centre in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State.
The airport project, initiated under Fayemi’s administration, had long generated controversy. Although it was commissioned in October 2022 shortly before the end of his tenure, some key infrastructure, including the air traffic control tower, was said to be incomplete at the time.
The facility eventually commenced commercial operations in December 2025 under Governor Biodun Oyebanji, who disclosed that the project ultimately cost about ₦49.7 billion, with Fayemi’s administration contributing approximately ₦14 billion and the current administration spending over ₦34 billion to complete it.
Fayemi was also reportedly questioned by the EFCC in June 2023 over a separate alleged ₦4 billion money laundering investigation.
The former governor and his wife, Erelu Bisi-Adeleye Fayemi, are founders of the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement, which operates the Amandla Resort and Conference Centre.
The former governor has not publicly responded to the allegations linking the airport project to the resort.
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