President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to return to court and vacate the order freezing Osun State Government’s accounts, days before the state’s governorship election.
The President said the timing of the EFCC’s action left him deeply embarrassed, coming just before Osun voters head to the polls. He also phoned Governor Ademola Adeleke to inform him of the directive.
The Osun State Government welcomed the intervention, calling it a victory for the rule of law. But Governor Adeleke didn’t stop there — he filed a N2 billion suit against the EFCC, accusing the commission of unlawfully freezing the state’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account and demanding damages plus litigation costs.
The state government has rejected the EFCC’s claim that the freeze followed an investigation into an alleged diversion of N11 billion in ecological and intervention funds, insisting the move was politically motivated.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar weighed in too, describing the EFCC’s action as an assault on democracy and warning against turning public institutions into political weapons. The African Democratic Congress went further, arguing that Tinubu’s directive undermined the EFCC’s claim to independence from the Presidency.
Not everyone welcomed the President’s move, though. An ADC House of Assembly candidate in Lagos, Ayodele Adio, dismissed the Presidency’s statement as misleading, arguing that only a court — not the EFCC — can vacate a court order.
For its part, the EFCC stood its ground, insisting its restriction on the Osun account was lawful and backed by the EFCC Act and the Money Laundering Act.
Tinubu explains the call
In a statement through his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu said he wasn’t questioning the EFCC’s mandate — only its timing. He said he had deliberately avoided interfering in the commission’s operations because independent institutions matter for good governance, but the closeness of the election changed his calculus.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the Federal Government is being used to interfere with the election,” Tinubu said, adding that he acted in the public interest to protect confidence in the process.
Osun government cries foul
Commissioner for Information, Kolapo Alimi, thanked the President for “listening to voices of reason” but also alleged that the real motive behind the freeze was to block payment of palliatives promised to workers — payments he said have since been made. He accused the EFCC of running a “witch-hunting investigation” since March without producing indicting evidence, and claimed officials face weekly harassment aimed at distracting them from governance.
Adeleke’s N2bn suit
Filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the suit names the EFCC, its chairman, and First Bank Nigeria as defendants. The Attorney-General and Accountant-General of Osun State are listed alongside the governor as plaintiffs. They’re asking the court to declare the freeze unconstitutional and void, and to award N2 billion in damages plus costs. No hearing date has been fixed yet.
EFCC defends its powers
EFCC spokesperson Wilson Uwujaren told Arise Television the commission acted after noticing suspicious transfers from the account over the preceding week, and stressed the freeze targets only one account, not the state’s entire finances. He cited Section 34 of the EFCC Act and Section 7(6) of the Money Laundering Act as legal backing, noting the commission can restrict an account for 72 hours before needing a court order.
“It’s just a targeted freezing. Once we are satisfied that activities on that account are no longer suspicious, it will be lifted,” he said.
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