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…Action Targeted At Adeleke’s Reelection — Okorie, Onovo
…Governor Adeleke Says This Is Threat To Democracy
…Osun Heads To Court, Decries Anti-Graft Agency’s Action
…Our Action To Prevent Alleged Diversion Of Funds — EFCC
Lawyers and politicians, on Wednesday, questioned the legality of freezing the Osun State government’s account domiciled with FirstBank by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), ten days before the state’s governorship election, saying any action taken by the anti-graft agency must be guided by due process and constitutional safeguards.
They told Daily Independent that the action must have been taken to cripple governance in the state before the August 15 gubernatorial election, noting that it is also targeted at paralysing Governor Ademola Adeleke’s bid for reelection.
They warned President Bola Tinubu that the action was targeted at Osun people.
Governor Adeleke on Wednesday during a press conference announced that the EFCC has frozen the state government’s account. According to him, the government received a letter from its banker, forwarding a letter from the EFCC, instructing the bank to freeze Osun State government account.
“This action was taken without any court order. We’re supposed to be in a democracy, where the rule of law must always prevail. We’ll therefore, not accept a situation where federal agencies trample on the constitutional rights of subnational governments.
This is a threat to our democracy. If we all keep quiet and allow this illegality, very soon, whatever is left of our democracy will be fully eroded,” Adeleke said.
He also said that he has instructed the Attorney General of the state to challenge the illegality at the Federal High Court, Osogbo. Lawyers, including Femi Aborisade and Kabir Akingbolu, maintained that while the facts surrounding the development must first be established, any freezing of an account without judicial approval would raise serious constitutional concerns.
Aborisade said his initial reaction was to question the basis of the allegation, noting that the EFCC, as a statutory agency, is expected to operate within the powers granted to it by law.
“My first reaction is to doubt the veracity of the allegation. The EFCC is a creation of law pursuant to constitutional provisions. One would expect the EFCC not to engage in acts ultra vires its statutory powers,” he said.
However, he stated that if it was established that the agency directed the freezing of the state government’s account without a court order, such action would be unacceptable.
“However, if it is true that the EFCC ordered the bank accounts of Osun State to be frozen without a court order, that act is condemnable as it is a usurpation of the judicial duty of the court by an agency of the executive arm of government,” Aborisade said.
According to him, such an action would constitute an infringement of the constitutional principle of separation of powers and amount to an arbitrary exercise of power.
“The remedy open to the Osun State government is to file a law suit to set aside the alleged EFCC order,” he added.
Meanwhile, Akingbolu also stressed the importance of due process in the exercise of government powers, arguing that no agency of government is above the law.
He said, “If we are a democratic nation, we should be able to ensure that the tenets of rule of law are followed and adhered to strictly.
“EFCC is not different at all; EFCC has no authority to freeze the account of anybody, not to talk of a state government, without due process of law.”
The lawyer explained that due process requires the agency to approach a court and obtain an order before freezing an account.
“You don’t do this in a democracy. If you want to freeze an account of a state government, you must go through the due process of law by filing an action in court or an application to that effect,” he said.
Akingbolu, however, noted that the facts surrounding the matter must be established, including whether the EFCC obtained a court order before taking the action.
He also raised concerns about the timing of the alleged directive, coming close to the Osun governorship election, saying it could create perceptions of political interference.
Chief Chekwas Okorie, pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), told Daily Independent that the president should know how the people of South-West react to election manipulation, and shouldn’t see Osun election as a do-or-die affair.
He said, “Osun State is being generally acknowledged as the state of origin of Tinubu.
The state is the state where President Timibu lost to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in 2023. It was Adeleke, the governor of Osun State, who led the campaign because he was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) then.
So, Tinubu losing Osun and losing Lagos, which Obi won, was the greatest blow he has ever had in all his political career and in all his boast of being all sorts of things, guru, Jagaban and all that.
“Now, 2027 is around the corner. He’ll do everything, both conventional and non-conventional, both orthodox and unorthodox, to win Osun State.
Because if by any chance the All Progressives Congress (APC) fails to win Osun State next week, it then means that in 2027 Tinubu is easily defeatable.
Because what they’re boasting now is that 2027 is already won and lost. So if it’s already won and lost and Tinubu isn’t able to win his state of origin, then they’re going to put a lie to their boast.”
Okorie warned that the president shouldn’t allow a repeat of Wild Wild West and also the Ondo riot that nearly brought the government of the Second Republic down.
“He should remember that we’re talking about Osun people, not Adeleke. He shouldn’t disregard the rule of law in his actions”, he said.
Engr. Matins Onovo, a former presidential candidate, in a chat with Daily Independent, tackled the APC government at the centre, saying that the action of the government is to make Adeleke look incompetent and not able to deliver in the state thereby fail to win the August 15 governorship election.
He said, “It’s very clear to any discerning citizen that Tinubu’s regime doesn’t care about the people, doesn’t care about governance, doesn’t care about their right to life, doesn’t care about their welfare. Tinubu has failed every moral test.”
He urged the governor to reach out to other political parties and politicians so that governance can be sustained.
“This is a direct attack on the people of Osun State because he doesn’t care about the people, he doesn’t care about their security and their welfare. The governor should go to court with an affidavit of urgency and get the EFCC letter through an ex parte motion, and get it nullified.
“The objective is clear, it’s to suspend governance so as to incapacitate him and allow the people to vote him out, seeing him as incompetent and unable to deliver.”
Osun State is set to take legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the anti-graft agency froze government accounts.
The state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, said on Wednesday that he had received the governor’s mandate to approach the Federal High Court to challenge the move.
According to him, a “post no debit” directive from the EFCC was sent to FirstBank, where the state’s accounts are held. Jimi-Bada argued that while the EFCC has the power to investigate accounts, it lacks the authority to freeze them without a court order.
“I have the mandate of the governor to proceed to the Federal High Court to challenge this move. EFCC can investigate the accounts but it can’t freeze the accounts without order of court.
“This step will affect government running but we will challenge the move and ensure that the agency acts within the ambit of the law,” he said.
Also reacting, the state Commissioner for Finance, Sola Ogungbile, alleged that police operatives stormed a branch of FirstBank in Osogbo and arrested some bank staff.
He maintained that Governor Ademola Adeleke was not using state funds for his reelection campaign and urged the EFCC to consider the broader impact of the action on residents.
EFCC Explains Freezing Of Osun Govt Accounts Over Aleged N11bn Probe
Meanwhile, the EFCC has explained its decision to freeze the bank accounts of the Osun State government, saying the action was taken to prevent the alleged diversion of public funds while investigations into the state’s finances continue.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by its Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency said it had been investigating the Osun State government since March 2026 over the alleged handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) amounting to about N11 billion.
According to the commission, several officials of the state government, including the Accountant General, have been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.
The EFCC stated that it initially had no intention of placing a Post No Debit order on the state’s accounts but said it observed what it described as unusual movements of funds beginning on August 2, 2026.
The commission alleged that large sums were transferred from the government accounts to several corporate entities it considered suspicious, prompting it to freeze the affected accounts to halt further transactions pending the outcome of its investigation.
The agency maintained that the action was in line with its statutory responsibility to protect public funds and prevent their alleged misappropriation.
While acknowledging the forthcoming governorship election in Osun State, the EFCC said the election did not prevent it from carrying out its legal mandate, insisting that its intervention was intended to safeguard state resources rather than influence the political process.
The commission also disclosed that it is monitoring the finances of other state governments, noting that several states are under investigation as part of efforts to promote accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.
The EFCC rejected allegations of partisanship, describing itself as a non-partisan institution committed to protecting the interests of Nigerians.
It urged members of the public to disregard what it called false narratives and attempts to discredit its operations, insisting that the freezing of the Osun State government’s accounts was solely aimed at preserving public funds while investigations continue.
