The Nigerian Bar Association has faulted the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the reported freezing of Osun State Government bank account, saying the anti-graft agency lacks the constitutional power to impose a blanket restriction on a state’s finances without due legal process.
The EFCC on Wednesday directed that no money be withdrawn from the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account as part of an ongoing investigation.
A letter dated August 5, 2026, and signed by the Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Adenike Babalola, for the Director of Investigation, instructed the bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on the account pending the conclusion of the probe.
The letter, referenced 3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/666, was addressed to the Managing Director of First Bank, with attention to the Chief Compliance Officer.
It identified the affected account as “Osun State Government Statutory Allocation” with account number 2017170947.
The EFCC in a statement on Wednesday night said the action followed suspicious movement of funds amid an ongoing investigation into alleged fraudulent handling of about N11billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee allocations.
In a statement on Wednesday signed by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency said it was “compelled to publicly address issues pertaining to its preventive moves in freezing the bank account of the Osun State government, without prejudice to the imminent governorship election in the state.”
The commission said it had been investigating the state government since March 2026 over the alleged mismanagement of the funds, disclosing that some officials, particularly the state’s Accountant-General, had been interviewed by its investigators.
According to the statement, the decision to place a Post No Debit order on the account was triggered by unusual fund movements detected from August 2, 2026.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,”it said.
The EFCC insisted its action was not politically motivated despite the timing ahead of the Osun governorship election, stressing that it could not overlook financial infractions on account of the poll.
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the Commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions.”
However, NBA president, Afam Osigwe (SAN), in an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, warned that any directive restricting withdrawals from accounts belonging to a state government would effectively cripple governance and amount to an abuse of power.
His comments followed the EFCC’s directive to First Bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on Osun State’s statutory allocation account as part of an ongoing investigation, a move that has generated legal and political controversy ahead of the August 15 governorship election in the state.
Osigwe acknowledged that the EFCC could seek court orders against specific accounts suspected to be linked to fraud but insisted that the commission could not lawfully freeze all accounts belonging to a state government.
He said, “No government agency or any person has the right or the power to restrict withdrawals from the account of any state because, first of all, the order has the effect of grounding the activities of a government. If the EFCC knows that any particular account is being used for the purpose of fraud, it may be able to obtain a court order, but it cannot make a blanket order freezing the accounts of any state.”
The senior advocate added, “Such an order would be unconstitutional and also violate the powers of the EFCC and may actually amount to an abuse of power. We should not have such a situation.”
He maintained that any decision to freeze the account of an individual or government institution must be supported by sufficient legal grounds and a valid court order.
According to him, “If there is a need to freeze the account of a person or government, there is a need to provide a proper basis for it and get a proper order.”
Although he said he was unaware whether the EFCC had indeed issued such a directive, Osigwe advised banks not to comply with any instruction seeking to halt transactions across all state government accounts.
He stated, “I don’t think it would be proper if indeed the EFCC made such an order. I’m not aware of it, but if they made such an order, I would advise that no bank should obey such an order.”
He further urged the anti-graft agency to avoid actions capable of creating the impression that it intended to financially cripple a state government.
Similarly, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, questioned the legality of the alleged no-debit restriction, and also insisted that the EFCC must first obtain a court order before freezing any account.
He said Nigerian courts had consistently ruled that anti-graft agencies could not freeze accounts without judicial authorisation.
“There is a no-debit order on Osun State’s account. My question is: Does the EFCC have the power to do that? I don’t think they got any order from the court,” he said.
Olumide-Fusika noted that while the EFCC regularly imposed restrictions on individual accounts, the alleged action against a state government had attracted wider public attention because of its constitutional implications.
He said, “The courts have been consistent on that: don’t do it without a court order. Anybody can go to court to seek an order, but the decision belongs to the court.”
The senior lawyer, however, linked the controversy to the forthcoming Osun governorship election, arguing that concerns over the possible use of public funds for electioneering could have informed the alleged restriction.
He nonetheless maintained that any preventive action must comply with the law.
Also weighing in, Isiaka Olagunju (SAN) described the freezing of the bank account as a serious violation of the 1999 Constitution and contrary to the principles of federalism.
PUNCH
