Falana Speaks on EFCC Freezing Osun State’s Account
- Senior Advocate Femi Falana weighed in on the controversy surrounding the EFCC's freezing of an Osun State government account
- Falana cited a 2022 Court of Appeal ruling and a 2024 Supreme Court judgment to back his position on the EFCC's powers
- The lawyer also warned against the impression that anti-corruption agencies should halt probes whenever elections are near
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Legit.ng as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 8 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
Osogbo, Osun State - Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) acted within the law when it froze an Osun State government account.
Falana argued that the commission's authority to do so has already been settled by Nigerian courts.
Source: Twitter
The Human rights lawyer made the remarks on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television's Politics Today, amid growing controversy over the EFCC's restriction of an Osun State statutory allocation account.
The commission said it moved against the account following suspicious fund movements linked to an ongoing investigation into the alleged fraudulent handling of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds, and Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations.
Court judgments back EFCC's powers
The senior advocate pointed to two key rulings to support his position. He recalled that in 2019, the Federal High Court in Benue State ruled that the EFCC lacked the power to freeze a state government's account and awarded N50 million in damages against the commission.
The EFCC appealed, and in September 2022, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, holding that the commission could place a Post No Debit restriction on any government account for up to 72 hours before obtaining a court order.
"That remains the law in Nigeria today."
Falana also cited a 2024 Supreme Court judgment, in which the Kogi State government, alongside other states, challenged the authority of the EFCC, ICPC, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit to probe state accounts.
According to The Punch, Falana said the Supreme Court ruled in favour of those agencies, finding that they had the power to investigate the accounts of any organisation at the federal, state, or local government level.
"That remains the law in Nigeria."
Falana warns against shielding governments during elections
Falana noted that the Osun State government had challenged the legality of the court order itself, not its timing, which he said was the correct approach.
He cautioned that allowing elections to serve as a reason for pausing anti-corruption investigations would set a harmful precedent.
"Because we must also 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."
Falana added that such a position would effectively shield governments from scrutiny whenever polls were approaching.
He said anyone seeking to change the current legal framework should take the matter to the National Assembly rather than challenge the EFCC's exercise of powers already upheld by the courts.
Source: Facebook
EFCC chairman urged to resign over Osun account
Recall that Accord Party's National Chairman addressed a world press conference in Abuja on Friday, calling out the EFCC over the freezing of the Osun State Government's account.
The party alleged that the anti-graft agency acted outside its constitutional powers just days before the August 15 Osun governorship election.
Accord Party also raised alarm over the alleged arrest of about 60 of its supporters across Abuja, Osun and Nasarawa states.
Osun: States accounts been frozen by EFCC
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that EFCC froze the Osun State government's account in 2026, adding the state to a growing list.
Data shared by analytics account StatiSense showed that 8 Nigerian states have had government accounts frozen by the EFCC since 2006.
Plateau State in the north-central region was the first Nigerian state to have its government account frozen by the EFCC, back in 2006.
Source: Legit.ng
