By The Osun State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, said on Wednesday that he has Governor Ademola Adeleke’s mandate to challenge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in court, after the anti-graft agency froze the state government’s account at First Bank.
Jimi-Bada said a “Post No Debit” letter from the EFCC had been forwarded to First Bank’s management, where the state’s accounts are domiciled. He argued that while the EFCC can investigate government accounts, it cannot freeze them without a court order, and said he would proceed to the Federal High Court to challenge the action. He acknowledged the move would affect government operations but maintained the state would ensure the agency acted within the law.
The Osun State Commissioner for Finance, Sola Ogungbile, corroborated the Attorney General’s account and further alleged that police operatives had stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and arrested bank staff members. He said Governor Adeleke was not using state funds for his reelection campaign, and urged the EFCC to consider the impact of the freeze on the general welfare of residents.
Governor Adeleke’s Press Statement
Addressing the press directly, a statement Governor Adeleke posted on his verified X account laid out his account of events and the broader political context surrounding the freeze.
Adeleke said Osun had faced sustained challenges in recent months, citing the deliberate paralysis of the local government system, open gun attacks on residents, and daily harassment and arrest of Accord party members. He alleged that police had carried out constant raids and arrests of Accord leaders without warrants, that several Accord members had been killed, and that 60 members had been arrested, taken to Abuja, and detained without charges. He attributed these actions to the order of Gboyega Oyetola, whom he said was acting over an election his candidate cannot win.
Adeleke said that on the morning of the statement, the state government received a letter from its banker forwarding an EFCC instruction to freeze the Osun State Government account, without a court order. He argued that Nigeria is meant to operate under the rule of law, and that allowing federal agencies to trample on the constitutional rights of subnational governments constitutes a threat to democracy that, left unchallenged, would further erode what remains of it.
He called on the EFCC chairman to explain to Osun residents and Nigerians why the account was frozen and to provide proof supporting any reason given, describing the development, alongside other actions taken against the state, as turning Nigeria’s democracy into “a huge joke.” He confirmed he had instructed the state’s Attorney General to challenge the action at the Federal High Court in Osogbo, and said his campaign would continue undeterred.
As of the time of this report, the EFCC had not issued an official statement addressing the freeze or the reason behind it.
