The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has defended its decision to freeze the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account, saying the action was a preventive measure to protect public funds amid an ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of N11 billion in public funds.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency said it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee, FAAC, allocations amounting to N11 billion.
According to the EFCC, investigators had already questioned several state officials, including the Accountant General of the state, as part of the probe.
The Commission explained that it only imposed a Post No Debit order after detecting what it described as “precipitate and unwarranted” transfers of large sums from the government’s accounts into multiple corporate entities beginning on August 2, 2026.
“The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” the statement said.
The EFCC maintained that the decision was not influenced by the forthcoming Osun governorship election, insisting it had a statutory responsibility to safeguard public resources and prevent alleged looting of state funds.
It added that several other states were also under financial scrutiny, stressing that its operations remain non-partisan and aimed solely at promoting accountability and transparency.
The agency urged Nigerians to disregard what it described as false narratives and attempts to portray its actions as politically motivated, insisting that freezing the account was necessary to protect public funds.
Osun Gov’t Rejects EFCC’s Action
The development followed strong opposition from the Osun State Government, which accused the EFCC of using the investigation to intimidate Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration ahead of the state’s governorship election.
Osun Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, described the freezing of the state’s statutory allocation account with First Bank as a witch-hunt and threatened legal action against the anti-graft agency.
The state government argued that the EFCC’s action formed part of broader efforts to frustrate the administration before the election.
The account freeze is separate from another financial dispute involving the Osun State Government and the Federal Government over withheld local government allocations.
Since March 2025, the state has challenged the withholding of local government funds, describing the action as unconstitutional.
The matter is currently before the Supreme Court, where the state is seeking orders compelling the release of the allocations and preventing future withholding.
State officials have argued that the withheld funds are meant for the payment of teachers, healthcare workers, pensioners and other grassroots services, while also alleging that previous court judgements recognising elected local government councils have not been complied with.
The EFCC, however, has maintained that its investigation into the state’s finances is independent of the local government allocation dispute and is solely aimed at protecting public funds pending the outcome of its investigation.
