Adeleke Drags EFCC to Court Over Freeze of Osun Govt Account
By Kabir Akintayo
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, on Wednesday announced plans to challenge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in court over the freezing of the state government’s bank account, describing the action as illegal and a threat to Nigeria’s democracy.
Addressing journalists in Osogbo, Adeleke said the state government received a letter from its banker informing it of an EFCC directive to place its account under restriction without a court order. He insisted that the anti-graft agency had no constitutional basis to freeze the account and demanded that the EFCC publicly explain the reasons behind its action.
“I have instructed my Attorney General to challenge this illegality at the Federal High Court in Osogbo,” the governor said, adding that the state government would not accept what he described as an infringement on the constitutional rights of a subnational government.
Adeleke argued that allowing federal agencies to freeze a state’s account without judicial authorisation would undermine the rule of law and erode democratic governance. He called on the EFCC Chairman to provide evidence justifying the decision to freeze the account, saying Nigerians deserved an explanation.
The governor also linked the development to what he described as a series of politically motivated actions against his administration ahead of the August 15 governorship election. He alleged that the state had witnessed the paralysis of the local government system, repeated police raids, arrests of members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and attacks allegedly orchestrated to intimidate the opposition.
According to Adeleke, about 60 ADC members had been arrested and taken to Abuja without being charged, while several others had allegedly been killed. He accused former Governor Gboyega Oyetola of being behind the alleged intimidation campaign, claiming it was aimed at influencing the outcome of an election “his candidate cannot win.”
Despite the development, the governor assured residents that his administration would continue with its political activities, declaring that the account freeze would not derail its preparations for the election.
The EFCC had earlier directed First Bank to place the Osun State Government account, reportedly used for the payment of workers’ salaries, on “Post No Debit” status. While the state government confirmed the restriction, the anti-graft agency had not, as of the time of filing this report, issued an official statement explaining the reason for the action.
