The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has confirmed that approximately 18 state governments in Nigeria are currently under investigation for alleged mismanagement of public funds. Wilson Uwujaren, the commission's Director of Public Affairs, made the disclosure during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, but he declined to name the states involved.
EFCC Spokesman Confirms Investigations into 18 States
Uwujaren's remarks came in response to questions about the EFCC's recent decision to freeze an Osun State government account. He described the action as one of a series of similar steps the commission had taken or was preparing to take. "Like we said in the statement, there are about 18 other states that we have ongoing investigations," he said.
When pressed to identify the states, Uwujaren declined, stating that disclosure at this stage could compromise the probes. "Not running away per se, but not to jeopardise the investigation that is currently ongoing," he explained.
Edo State Precedent Cited
According to PUNCH, Uwujaren said the Osun action was not unusual, pointing to a comparable intervention during the Edo State gubernatorial transition period, before Governor Monday Okpebholo came to office. "Before, during the Edo State government, the Edo State election, before the coming of Governor Okpebholo, EFCC also took actions to restrict the account of that state government when we saw that funds were being moved to suspicious accounts. And we were able to preserve $12 billion for them. That is why the current government was able to come on board and have resources to work," he said.
He added that the commission's interventions were based on law and not designed to target any particular administration. "So this is not targeted at any particular government. We are simply doing our work under the law," he said.
Ekiti Comparison Dismissed
On questions about why the EFCC had not acted similarly during the Ekiti State election period, Uwujaren said the situations were not comparable. "If you talk about what happened in Ekiti, we didn't have any reason to intervene the way we are intervening now. And you don't have access to the information that we have access to," he said.
Details of the Osun Account Restriction
Uwujaren clarified that only one statutory account belonging to the Osun State government had been restricted, leaving the state free to operate its other accounts. He said the commission had a 72-hour window in which to secure a court order sustaining the freeze. "We have not exhausted that window, 72 hours, within which we either obtain a court order to continue to freeze it or lift the restriction on the other hand," he said.
Responding to reports that the Osun State government intended to approach the courts before the commission could act, Uwujaren acknowledged that was within the state's rights. "It's within their right to take that decision today. If we think they are right to take that decision, we are also working on what we should do as an agency," he said.
He cited Section 34 of the EFCC Act and Section 7, Subsection 6 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 as the legal basis for the account restrictions, noting these powers extended to any account showing suspicious activity.
Investigation Timeline and Reactions
Uwujaren also stressed that the Osun investigation began in March and that several state officials had already been questioned before the account freeze drew public attention. The EFCC's action has sparked reactions, including from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who condemned the freeze in the days leading up to the state's governorship election. Documents showed that the EFCC placed an Osun State Government account held at First Bank on 'Post No Debit' status.
