President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government.
The President said the directive was issued to safeguard public confidence in Nigeria’s democratic process, noting that Osun State was only days away from its governorship election.
Tinubu disclosed this in a statement issued by the State House on Thursday, expressing concern over the timing of the anti-graft agency’s action, although he maintained that he was not opposed to the EFCC carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government. 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,” the President said.
The EFCC had secured the court order as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged financial infractions involving the Osun State Government.
The commission had earlier defended the action, insisting it acted within the law and possessed the authority to restrict accounts linked to suspected financial crimes. It also stated that it could freeze accounts for up to 72 hours without a court order before obtaining judicial approval for an extended restriction.
Tinubu, however, noted that actions taken by federal agencies were often attributed to him as President, regardless of whether he had prior knowledge of such decisions.
“This is so 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 said.
The President reiterated his long-standing position that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their constitutional responsibilities independently and without political interference.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference,” Tinubu stated.
He added that he had deliberately refrained from interfering in the operations of the EFCC and other investigative agencies because of his commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law.
“I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law,” he added.
Despite his support for the independence of anti-graft agencies, Tinubu said the proximity of the Osun governorship election made the timing of the account freeze inappropriate and necessitated his intervention.
“While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene,” the President said.
According to him, no action should create the impression that any federal institution was being used to influence the outcome of the forthcoming election.
“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 indeed any other agency of the Federal Government is being used to interfere with the election,” Tinubu said.
The President explained that his directive was issued in the overriding public interest to preserve the integrity, credibility and fairness of the country’s democratic process.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process.”
Tinubu subsequently ordered the anti-graft agency to discontinue the action against the Osun State Government.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard,” the statement read.
The directive follows a dispute between the EFCC and the Osun State Government over the freezing of the state’s accounts. While the commission said the action was part of an investigation into alleged financial misconduct, the Adeleke administration has denied any wrongdoing, rejected allegations of misappropriating N11 billion and accused the anti-graft agency of acting for political reasons.
