Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has filed a ₦2 billion lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the state’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account.
The suit, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, also lists the Attorney General of Osun State and the state’s Accountant General as second and third plaintiffs.
The EFCC, its Chairman and First Bank Nigeria Limited are named as the first to third defendants in the originating summons filed by a legal team led by M. T. Adekilekun, SAN.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether the EFCC and its chairman have the legal authority to freeze, restrict, block or place a “post no debit” order on the Osun State Statutory Account without following due process.
They are also challenging the legality of the EFCC’s directive to First Bank to restrict the account, identified as Account No. 2017170947, through a letter dated August 5, 2026, signed by ACE I Adenike S. Babalola on behalf of the Director of Investigation.
The plaintiffs argued that the action, allegedly taken without a prior or concurrent court order, amounted to an abuse of statutory powers, executive lawlessness and a violation of the constitutional principles of due process, the rule of law and the financial autonomy of Osun State.
They further asked the court to determine whether First Bank could lawfully restrict the account merely on the basis of an administrative directive from the EFCC in the absence of a valid, subsisting and specific order from a court of competent jurisdiction.
The plaintiffs also contended that the bank breached its duty of care to the Osun State Government by acting on the EFCC’s directive and restricting access to the account without a court order.
Reliefs sought
Upon determination of the issues, Adeleke and the other plaintiffs are asking the court to declare the EFCC’s actions concerning the account “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires their powers, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.”
They are also seeking an order setting aside and nullifying the freezing, restriction, blocking or post-no-debit instruction placed on the account through the EFCC’s August 5 letter.
The plaintiffs want First Bank ordered to immediately unfreeze and unblock the account and restore the Osun State Government’s unrestricted access to and operation of the account.
They are further seeking a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC, its chairman, officers, agents and representatives from freezing, restricting or otherwise interfering with the state’s statutory account or any other account belonging to the Osun State Government without following due process.
A similar injunction is being sought against First Bank to prevent the bank from acting on future EFCC directives to freeze or restrict the account except in accordance with the law.
The plaintiffs are also asking the court to award ₦2 billion in exemplary and aggravated damages against the defendants for what they described as unlawful interference with public funds, in addition to the cost of the litigation.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.
Dispute over EFCC investigation
The lawsuit was filed shortly after President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to approach the court to vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account.
The EFCC had earlier confirmed that it froze the account, maintaining that the action was intended to prevent the movement of public funds allegedly under investigation and was not connected to the forthcoming governorship election.
Read Also: Tinubu Directs EFCC to Unfreeze Osun Government Account
The commission said it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) funds amounting to ₦11 billion.
The Adeleke administration has rejected the allegations and described the account freeze as unconstitutional and politically motivated.
President Tinubu, in a statement issued personally on Thursday, said he was “deeply embarrassed” not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the action, given the proximity of the Osun governorship election.
He subsequently directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to court to vacate the order and discontinue the action against the Osun State Government.
