EFCC Freezes More Accounts of Osun State Government

Details have come out about the recent account freeze against the Osun State Government by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This action has not only raised questions but also hurt the EFCC's reputation.

Sahara Reporters has reported that the EFCC did not just freeze one account of the state government. They targeted three accounts instead.

One of these accounts is a federal allocation account with First Bank. This account was previously thought to be the only one affected. The other two accounts are joint allocation accounts with Zenith Bank.

The report also mentioned that the EFCC got a court order for this account freeze. President Bola Tinubu shared this information for the first time on Thursday.

This freeze order has led to a lot of backlash against the EFCC and its chairman, Ola Olukoyede. Many see this as a politically motivated action.

The freeze came just over a week before the governorship election on August 15 in Osun State. The current governor, Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, is running against Bola Oyebamiji from the president's party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Many believe that federal agencies, including the police, have been unfair and selective in their actions against the Accord Party and Governor Adeleke as he seeks a second term.

On Thursday, Mr Tinubu expressed his embarrassment over this situation. He ordered the EFCC, in a statement he personally signed, to quickly take steps to lift the court order freezing the state government’s accounts.

Documents obtained by Sahara Reporters show that the EFCC got a freeze order against three state government accounts from the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 5. This was through an ex parte application under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1750/2026.

The ex parte application meant that the party affected by the order did not have to be present during the hearing.

Sahara Reporters stated that the EFCC’s lawyer, M. A. Babatunde, informed the court that the accounts were under investigation for diversion of public funds and money laundering.

Justice Mohammed Umar listened to the lawyer and then issued the order. He allowed the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, or any authorized officer to instruct the managing directors of the affected banks to freeze the accounts listed in the application.

The accounts affected by the court order include:

• Osun State Government Federal Allocation Account at First Bank Plc, Account No. 2017170947;
• Osun State Joint Allocation Account at Zenith Bank Plc, Account No. 1013374191;
• Osun State Joint Allocation Account at Zenith Bank Plc, Account No. 1014374909.

Justice Umar ordered that the freeze should last until the EFCC's investigations are finished.

Before Sahara Reporters’ report, only the First Bank account was known to be affected.

It is still unclear why the EFCC did not share full information about this matter with the public since Wednesday. That was when they wrote to First Bank to place a restriction on the state government's account.

The letter dated August 5 did not mention any court order and only referred to one account.

A statement from the EFCC that day suggested that only one account was targeted, confirming the restriction through a directive to the bank.

The EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, appeared on Arise Television earlier on Thursday. He tried to justify the freeze of the state government’s account without a court order. During the interview, he said the EFCC would seek a court order within 72 hours of the restriction.

The first mention of a court order for the freeze came on Thursday from President Tinubu’s statement. He directed the EFCC to quickly lift the freeze order.

Mr Tinubu, reflecting public anger about the EFCC’s action just 10 days before the election, said he felt deeply embarrassed by the situation.

“I must state that I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action,” Mr Tinubu said.

“This is because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action,” he added.

He explained that while he usually does not interfere in the work of the EFCC or any agency, he had to step in regarding the Osun State issue.

“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 any agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election.

“Based on the above, I must issue a directive on this issue to protect public confidence and the fairness of our democratic process,” Mr Tinubu stated.

He directed the EFCC to go to court to lift the order and stop any action against the Osun State Government.

This directive is a significant move by the president in a situation that has taken over political discussions in Osun State in the last 24 hours. This follows the EFCC freezing one of the state’s accounts due to an investigation into the alleged diversion of about N11 billion in public funds.

Presidential spokesman, Mr Onanuga, later announced that Mr Tinubu spoke with Mr Adeleke on the phone. He informed the governor that he had directed the lifting of the order restricting the state government’s account.