President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to return to court and vacate an order restricting the Osun State Government's statutory allocation account, less than two weeks before the August 15 governorship election in the state. The directive, issued in a personally signed statement on Thursday, August 7, came amid growing backlash over the agency's actions.
President's Directive and Rationale
Tinubu stated he had not yet been fully briefed on the case but emphasized that the timing of the restriction was inappropriate. "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," the statement read.
The EFCC had, on Wednesday, placed a temporary restriction on one of the state's accounts as part of an investigation into the alleged diversion and laundering of about N11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds, and Federal Account Allocation Committee allocations, as reported by Punch.
EFCC's Legal Basis and Precedent
The agency's Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, said the restriction was made under Sections 34 of the EFCC Act and 7(6) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which permit a 72-hour account hold ahead of obtaining a court order. He added that similar action had been taken in Edo State before its own governorship election.
Osun State Files Lawsuit
The Osun State Government did not wait for the President's directive to take effect. On Wednesday, it filed suit FHC/ABJ/CS/1762/2026 at the Federal High Court in Abuja, naming the EFCC, its Executive Chairman, and First Bank of Nigeria Limited as defendants. Governor Ademola Adeleke, the state's Attorney-General, and the Accountant-General are listed as plaintiffs. The state is seeking a declaration that the account freeze is unlawful and unconstitutional, along with N2 billion in exemplary damages.
The state government also dismissed the N11 billion allegation as an afterthought, with Commissioner for Information Kolapo Alimi alleging that the freeze was ordered at the instance of former governor Gboyega Oyetola to prevent the payment of worker palliatives.
Reactions from Opposition and Legal Community
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar said Tinubu's directive had effectively undermined any claim that the EFCC operates independently of the Presidency, as reported by Vanguard. "It is impossible to ignore the implications of freezing a state's principal operational account on the eve of a governorship election," Atiku said through his spokesman, Phrank Shaibu.
The African Democratic Congress welcomed the reversal but questioned Tinubu's references to a court order, noting that the EFCC had never publicly claimed to have obtained one before acting.
Constitutional lawyer Tokunbo Afikuyomi backed Tinubu's intervention as consistent with electoral fairness but stressed that the EFCC must seek a formal judicial discharge of the order rather than rely on a presidential directive alone.
Civil society leader Auwal Musa Rafsanjani of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre said both the EFCC and Osun State had acted within their respective legal rights, but called for clearer harmonisation of constitutional provisions with anti-corruption statutes to prevent future conflicts.
Osun APC Response
The Osun chapter of the All Progressives Congress, for its part, called on Governor Adeleke to apologise to Tinubu and Minister Gboyega Oyetola, arguing that the President's statement did not clear the state government of the underlying allegations.
Presidential Phone Call to Adeleke
Previously, Legit.ng reported that President Bola Tinubu reached out to Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke on Thursday, August 6, by phone, informing him that he had directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to lift the court order placed on the Osun State Government's account. Bayo Onanuga, the president's special adviser on information and strategy, announced the development in a statement, noting that the call signalled a direct intervention by the presidency in the matter, with Tinubu personally assuring Adeleke of the steps being taken at the federal level to resolve the freeze on the state's account.
