EFCC Unlocks Osun State Accounts After Tinubu's Order

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has lifted the freeze on the Osun State Government’s accounts. This freeze was put in place before last Saturday’s governorship election in Osun.

The accounts were with First Bank of Nigeria and Zenith Bank. They are now active again, ending a standoff that led to a legal battle by the state government and brought in President Bola Tinubu.

Punch reported that Temitope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, confirmed this on Friday. He said the EFCC could not ignore the president’s order to lift the freeze.

“The lien has been lifted. EFCC cannot ignore the presidential order. I can confirm to you that it was done immediately,” Mr Ajayi said.

Abdul-Jeleel Samakin, the Senior Special Assistant on Media Monitoring to Osun State Governor, also confirmed the unfreezing on Saturday morning through a Whatsapp message. He said, “Yes, the accounts are active now. They’ve been unfrozen after some interventions.”

Background of the Freeze

The EFCC froze the Osun State Government accounts on August 5. It told the banks not to allow any withdrawals or other debit transactions from these accounts.

The affected accounts included the Osun State Government Federal Allocation Account 2017170947 with First Bank Plc. There were also two Osun State Joint Allocation Accounts 1013374191 and 1014374909 with Zenith Bank Plc.

The commission later said that this action was part of an ongoing investigation. They looked into the alleged mismanagement of about N11 billion in state funds.

This investigation included Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds, and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The EFCC said they needed to freeze the accounts to stop the alleged diversion of public funds while they continue their investigation.

This issue soon became part of the political talks around the election. Governor Adeleke was up for re-election against Bola Oyebamiji from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But the EFCC insisted that the freeze was linked to their investigation and aimed at protecting public funds. This move sparked a political uproar. Supporters of the Adeleke administration questioned the timing of the freeze, which came just 10 days before the August 15 election.

Many people saw the EFCC's action as politically motivated. They believed it was an attempt to undermine Governor Adeleke before the election.

Change of Events

The situation changed when President Tinubu stepped in and directed the EFCC to lift the freeze. He called the EFCC's action “embarrassing” and ordered the restriction to be removed.

The Adeleke administration challenged the EFCC in court. The state government sought a legal solution to the commission’s action.

After winning the August 15 election, Mr Adeleke said he told the Osun State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, to drop the case after Mr Tinubu’s intervention.

Mr Ajayi, the presidential aide, said the EFCC acted quickly after getting the president's order to unfreeze the accounts.

“If it was not lifted, the Osun State Government would have made it a campaign issue. The fact that they are not talking about it shows it has been done,” he said.

As of the time of this report, the EFCC had not released any public statement about lifting the freeze on the state’s accounts. Efforts by PREMIUM TIMES to get a response from the commission were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages to its spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, were not answered.