The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has defended its decision to place a restriction on an Osun State Government account, insisting that the action was lawful and did not require prior court approval.
The Commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, made the clarification during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday while responding to criticisms from the Osun State Government and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Uwujaren said the EFCC acted within its legal mandate after detecting what it described as suspicious transactions on the account over the past week.
“As we indicated in the statement released by the Commission, we took that step to preserve the account of the Osun State Government.
“We observed in the past one week that activities on that account looked suspicious, and based on the mandate of the Commission, we took the step of placing a restriction on that account to preserve it,” he said.
He clarified that the restriction affected only one government account and should not be interpreted as a freeze on all of the state’s accounts.
“That restriction order does not mean that all the accounts of Osun State have been frozen. No. It is just a targeted restriction on one account of the Osun State Government,” he said.
According to Uwujaren, the commission observed multiple transfers from the account to several corporate entities within a short period, prompting the intervention.
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“The essence, like I said, is just to preserve that account because we observed suspicious activities on that account in terms of the transfer of funds to a number of entities within one week.
“So we had to take that decision to place a restriction on that account, not minding the fact that there is an election process in place,” he said.
He maintained that the EFCC had a legal obligation to act, arguing that failure to intervene could have allowed public funds to be misappropriated.
“We have the responsibility under the law to do so because if we don’t take that step and, for instance, funds are looted from the account of the Osun State Government, I’m sure the Nigerian public will also ask, ‘Where was the EFCC when those funds were being moved?’” he said.
Uwujaren also dismissed claims that the restriction would cripple governance in the state, noting that the government still had access to other accounts.
“It does not stop the Osun State Government from running the government of the state because they have access to other funds in the other accounts that they have.
“In any case, the payment of salaries and other expenditures by the state government happens just once in a month. What we have done is not a blanket freezing of the account.
“It’s just a targeted freezing. Once we are satisfied that activities on that account are no longer suspicious, it will be lifted,” he said.
Addressing concerns over the legality of the action, Uwujaren said the EFCC was empowered by law to impose a temporary restriction on suspicious accounts without first obtaining a court order.
“A number of people have asked whether the Commission has the power to do so under the law. I can assure you that we have the power to place a temporary restriction on an account.
“Section 34 of the EFCC Act and Section 7, Subsection 6 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 give us that authority to take that step,” he said.
He added that the restriction could remain in place for up to 72 hours, after which the commission would obtain a court order if necessary.
“The restriction order can last within 72 hours before we can come with a court order if we need to provide a court order,” he said.
The EFCC had earlier disclosed that it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations. The commission said several state officials, including the Accountant General, had already been questioned.
The commission’s explanation comes after Governor Ademola Adeleke condemned the restriction as illegal and directed the state’s Attorney General, Oluwole Jimi-Bada (SAN), to challenge the action at the Federal High Court in Osogbo. Jimi-Bada had argued that while the EFCC could investigate government accounts, it lacked the authority to freeze them without first securing a court order.
