EFCC logo and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke
Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has sued the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the state’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account.
The suit was filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja by a legal team led by M. T. Adekilekun, SAN.
The Attorney General of Osun State and the Accountant General of the state are also listed as plaintiffs in the case.
The EFCC, its Chairman and First Bank Nigeria Limited were named as defendants.
The plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether the EFCC had the legal power to freeze the state’s account without first obtaining a valid court order.
They also questioned whether the action violated the Constitution, the EFCC Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Among the issues raised, the plaintiffs asked the court to decide:
“Whether, having regard to the combined express provisions of Section 7(6) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and Section 34 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Establishment Act, 2004, the 1st and 2nd Defendants possess the lawful authority to freeze, restrict, block, place a ‘post no debit’ order on, or otherwise interfere with the Osun State Government Federal Statutory Allocation Account… without first obtaining and serving a valid, subsisting, and specific order of a court of competent jurisdiction.”
The plaintiffs urged the court to declare the freezing of the account unlawful, unconstitutional and without legal effect.
They also asked the court to order the immediate removal of all restrictions placed on the account and restore the state’s access to its funds.
In addition, they sought a perpetual injunction to stop the EFCC from freezing any Osun State account in the future without following due process.
The suit also requested another injunction preventing First Bank from acting on any such EFCC directive unless it is backed by a valid court order.
The plaintiffs further asked the court to award ₦2 billion as exemplary and aggravated damages for what they described as the unlawful interference with public funds, as well as the cost of the suit.
No hearing date has been fixed, although the case was filed shortly after President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to approach the court to unfreeze the account.
The EFCC had said it froze the account to prevent the movement of funds linked to an investigation into the alleged diversion of ₦11 billion, insisting the action was unrelated to the forthcoming election.
Adeleke maintained that the action was unconstitutional, while President Tinubu stated, “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.”
