Osun Govt Sues EFCC, First Bank with N2bn Suit Over Account Freeze

The Osun State Government has taken legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), its Executive Chairman and First Bank of Nigeria over the restriction placed on one of the state’s accounts.

The suit, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeks the immediate removal of the restriction and demands N2 billion in damages.

The government argues that the action was unlawful and came at a politically sensitive period, barely days before the August 15 governorship election.

Court documents show that Governor Ademola Adeleke, the Attorney-General of Osun State and the Accountant-General jointly initiated the legal process through separate but related applications.

The filings include an Originating Summons, a Motion Ex Parte and an application requesting that the matter be heard urgently despite the court’s annual vacation.

The government urged the court to assign the case to a vacation judge, insisting that waiting until regular sittings resume could seriously affect governance in the state.

Osun State Challenges EFCC Action

According to the court papers, the dispute centres on a letter dated August 5, 2026, allegedly issued by the EFCC to First Bank directing that the state’s statutory allocation account be placed under restriction.

The letter, signed on behalf of the commission’s Director of Investigation, was addressed to the bank’s Managing Director and its Chief Compliance Officer.

The account involved is the Osun State Government Statutory Allocation Account, through which the state receives monthly allocations from the Federation Account.

The state government said it became aware of the restriction after First Bank informed officials that the account had been frozen at the request of the EFCC.

In an affidavit filed before the court, Olukunle Emmanuel Alao, Director of the Osun State Liaison Office in Abuja, stated that the Attorney-General informed him that no court order had been obtained before the restriction was placed on the account.

The government argued that the anti-graft agency lacked the legal authority to freeze a state government’s account through an administrative directive without first obtaining the approval of a competent court.

According to the affidavit, “the 1st Defendant does not possess a power to arbitrarily and indefinitely freeze the account of the State Government merely by issuing an administrative letter.”

The state also accused First Bank of failing in its responsibility by complying with the directive without first demanding a valid court order.

Government Raises Concern Over Timing

The Osun Government argued that the timing of the restriction has serious implications because it came shortly before the governorship election.

According to the court filings, the action was “politically motivated and calculated, or has the potential, to cripple the financial operations of the State Government at a particularly sensitive period.”

The affidavit further alleged that the decision was “laced with malice; bad faith and spurned by political interest rather than just and fair administration.”

It also claimed the action was capable of damaging the image of the state government and affecting public confidence during the election period.

The government maintained that it had not been informed of any court judgment declaring the funds in the account to be proceeds of crime.

It argued that if investigators suspected any particular transaction, the proper legal procedure would have been to approach the court for appropriate orders instead of restricting the entire account.

According to the filing, the affected account is used to finance key government responsibilities, including payment of workers’ salaries, pensions, healthcare services, education, security operations, road maintenance, environmental sanitation, contractors’ payments and other statutory obligations.

The government warned that continued restriction of the account could disrupt essential public services and create hardship for residents.

Reliefs Sought Before the Court

Among the reliefs sought, the Osun State Government is asking the Federal High Court to declare the restriction unlawful, set aside the EFCC’s directive and compel First Bank to immediately restore full access to the account.

The state also wants the court to restrain the EFCC and the bank from taking similar action in the future without following due legal process.

In addition, it is seeking N2 billion in damages for what it described as the unlawful restriction of its statutory allocation account.

The government said the applications were filed within 24 hours of becoming aware of the restriction because of the urgency of the matter and the need to avoid disruption to public administration.

EFCC Responds as Tinubu Issues Directive

Before the suit was filed, the EFCC defended its decision, saying the restriction formed part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged diversion of public funds.

The commission stated that it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations said to total about N11 billion.

It also rejected claims that the action was linked to the forthcoming governorship election.

However, President Bola Tinubu later directed the EFCC to take immediate steps to reverse the restriction.

The President instructed the anti-graft agency to approach the court to vacate the order freezing the state’s accounts and discontinue every related action connected with the restriction.

Tinubu said he was concerned that the timing of the development could create the impression that the Federal Government was attempting to influence the electoral process.

He stated: “I feel deeply embarrassed not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate under a court order, but by the timing of the action.”

The President added: “Every action taken by an institution of state, especially at the federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.”

The case is expected to be heard by a vacation judge of the Federal High Court as the Osun State Government seeks urgent judicial intervention before the governorship election.