Gov Adeleke Files Lawsuit Against EFCC Over Osun Account Freeze

Ademola Adeleke, the governor of Osun State, has criticized the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly unlawfully freezing the state’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account in a ₦2 billion lawsuit.

Additionally, Osun State’s Attorney General and Accountant General are listed as second and third plaintiffs in the lawsuit, respectively.

The EFCC, its chairman, and First Bank Nigeria Limited are listed as first through third defendants in the original summons filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja by a group of attorneys headed by M. T. Adekilekun, SAN.

In particular, the plaintiffs presented the court with a number of legal questions, including:

“Whether, having regard to the express provisions of sections 1, 6, 36, 44 and 162 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), 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 Statutory Account maintained with the this Defendant, without regard to due process of law.

“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, Number 2017170947, maintained with the 3rd Defendant, without first obtaining and serving a valid, subsisting, and specific order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“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 directive of the 1st Defendant to the 3rd Defendant ordering the freezing or restriction of the Osun State Statutory Account No. 2017170947, maintained with the 3rd Defendant, vide its letter with Reference No. CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/666 dated 5th August 2026 and authored by ACE I Adenike S. Babalola (for: Director, Investigation), without any prior or concurrent court order sought, obtained and served on the third Defendant, does not constitute an egregious act of executive lawlessness, an unlawful resort to self-help, a flagrant abuse of statutory powers, an unlawful suppression of the constitutional powers and functions of the Plaintiffs, a threat to the constitutional and corporate existence of Osun State, a brazen and unlawful denial of the democratic rights and dividends of the people of Osun State, and a direct violation of the fundamental constitutional principles of due process, the rule of law, and the financial autonomy of a federating unit.

“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 third Defendant, being the banker to the Government of Osun State in respect of the said statutory account, can lawfully freeze or continue to freeze, restrict, block, or deny the Government of Osun State unrestricted access to the said account merely upon an administrative directive, letter, request, instruction, or communication from the first and/or second Defendants in the manner done herein, in the absence of a valid, subsisting, and specific order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

“Whether, having regard to the effect of 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, and in the absence of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, this Honourable Court ought not to forthwith set aside the directive given by the first Defendant to the third Defendant in a letter dated 5th August 2026 ordering the freezing, restriction, blocking, or placing of a post-no-debit instruction on the Osun State Statutory Account with the third Defendant, given that such action was allegedly taken in violation of due process, and in a manner demonstrably capable of crippling the constitutional and statutory obligations of the Government to the people of Osun State.”

As well as: “Whether, having regard to the effect of 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, and in the absence of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction, the 3rd Defendant did not breach the duty of care owed to the Osun State Government when, on the purported directive of the first and second Defendants, it placed a restriction on the Osun State Statutory Account with the third Defendant, given that such action was allegedly taken without a court order, in violation of due process, and in a manner demonstrably capable of crippling the constitutional and statutory obligations and rights of the Government and people of Osun State.”

Upon determination of the issues, the plaintiffs, among other things, urged the court to declare the actions the defendants took with respect to the Osun State account as “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires their powers, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.”

They further sought: “An order setting aside, vacating, and nullifying the freezing, restriction, blocking, post-no-debit instruction, or any other restraint placed on the Osun State Statutory Account maintained with the 3rd Defendant vide its letter with Reference No. CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/666 dated 5th August 2026 and authored by ACE I Adenike S. Babalola (for: Director, Investigation), for being unlawful, unconstitutional, and without legal basis.
“An order mandating the third Defendant to forthwith unfreeze, unblock, and remove all restrictions, and to allow the Government of Osun State immediate and unrestricted access to and operation of the said Osun State Statutory Account.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the first and second Defendants, whether by themselves, their officers, agents, servants, privies, or any person acting on their behalf, from freezing, restricting, blocking, placing a post-no-debit instruction on, or otherwise interfering with the Osun State Statutory Account or any other account of the Government of Osun State without following due process of the law.

“An order of perpetual injunction restraining the 3rd Defendant, whether by itself, its officers, agents, servants, privies, or any person acting on its behalf, from acting on any directive, letter, instruction, or request from the first and/or second Defendants to freeze, restrict, block, or deny access to the Osun State Statutory Account, except in the manner stipulated by law.”

They also prayed the court to award ₦2 billion against the defendants to serve as “exemplary and aggravated damages for the unlawful interference with public funds,” as well as an order directing the defendants to pay the costs of the litigation.

Meanwhile, no date has been fixed for the suit, which was filed shortly after President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to immediately approach the court to unfreeze the Osun State Federal Statutory Allocation Account.

The EFCC had on Wednesday confirmed that it froze the state government’s bank account, saying the action was taken to prevent the alleged movement of public funds under investigation and was not connected to the forthcoming election.

The agency said it had been busy investigating the Osun State Government since March, 2026, “regarding alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of ₦11,000,000,000 only”.

But Adeleke described the action as unconstitutional.

Amid the controversy, President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to vacate a court order freezing an account belonging to the state government.

In a statement he personally issued on Thursday, Tinubu said he feels “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.”