- Femi Falana has defended the EFCC’s authority to freeze government accounts, citing previous Court of Appeal and Supreme Court judgments that affirmed the powers of anti-corruption agencies.
- The SAN also warned against stopping corruption investigations because elections are approaching, while acknowledging Osun State’s right to challenge the EFCC’s action in court.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has the legal authority to freeze the accounts of federal, state and local governments when investigating suspected financial crimes.
Falana made the clarification during an interview on Channels Television amid the controversy surrounding the EFCC’s freezing of accounts linked to the Osun State Government.
According to the legal practitioner, Nigerian courts have previously affirmed the commission’s powers to place restrictions on government accounts during corruption investigations.
“The EFCC has the power to freeze the account of the federal government or of any state or local government in Nigeria,” Falana said.
He referred to a 2022 Court of Appeal judgment in Attorney General of Benue State vs EFCC, where the court held that the EFCC could place a Post No Debit (PND) restriction on an account for up to 72 hours before obtaining a court order.
Falana also cited a 2024 Supreme Court judgment involving Kogi State, saying the apex court affirmed the powers of anti-corruption agencies, including the EFCC, ICPC and NFIU, to investigate government accounts.
The SAN cautioned against suggestions that corruption investigations should be suspended because elections are approaching.
“We must be very careful that we don’t give a dangerous impression that when elections are 10 days away, 20 days away, 30 days away, the anti-graft agencies must turn the other eye,” he stated.
Falana, however, noted that the Osun State Government has the right to challenge the EFCC’s action in court if it believes the commission acted unlawfully.
He maintained that, based on existing judicial decisions, the EFCC has the authority to investigate government finances and take lawful steps to prevent the movement of funds during an investigation.
