Tinubu Orders EFCC to Vacate Order Freezing Osun Government Accounts Ahead of Governorship Election

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately return to court to vacate an order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government, citing concerns over the timing of the action just days before the state's governorship election.

In a statement issued on Thursday and personally signed by the President, Tinubu said it had come to his notice that the EFCC obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the state government's accounts. The President said he felt "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." [Ndr](https://www.ndr.org.ng/president-tinubu-directs-efcc-to-vacate-court-order-freezing-osun-government-account/)

The EFCC had on Wednesday frozen the Osun State Government's account domiciled with First Bank, placing a Post No Debit restriction on it as part of an investigation into alleged fraudulent handling of N11 billion in ecology funds, intervention funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee disbursements. The move triggered swift backlash, particularly from opposition figures who alleged that federal institutions were being deployed to undermine Governor Ademola Adeleke's re-election bid, with the governor reportedly appealing directly to the President to intervene in the matter on Wednesday.

According to the statement, Tinubu explained that actions taken by federal institutions are frequently attributed to him as President, whether or not he had prior knowledge of them, and stressed that he had consistently allowed anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to carry out their statutory responsibilities independently, without political interference. He maintained that his concern was not with the EFCC's legal authority to freeze accounts suspected of being linked to financial infractions, but specifically with the timing of the freeze given its proximity to the election.

The President noted that Osun State is only days away from its governorship election, and said nothing ought to be done that could create the impression that the EFCC, or any other federal government agency, is being used to interfere with the electoral process. He said he was compelled to intervene in what he described as the overriding public interest, in order to preserve confidence in the integrity, credibility and fairness of Nigeria's democratic process.

"Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard," the statement read.

The EFCC had earlier defended its action, insisting that it acted within its statutory powers and that it retains the authority to place restrictions on accounts suspected to be linked to financial crimes. The agency has previously stated that it can freeze accounts for up to 72 hours without a court order before seeking judicial approval to extend such restrictions further, a provision it said informed its handling of the Osun case.

The controversy adds to a growing list of disputes in Nigeria in recent years over the perceived proximity between federal anti-corruption enforcement and politically sensitive electoral timelines, an issue that has repeatedly drawn criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups concerned about the independence of agencies such as the EFCC from executive or political influence.

Government officials have consistently maintained that the agency operates independently of political direction, even as critics have questioned the timing of high-profile actions taken close to elections in several states in the past.

With the Osun governorship election only days away, the President's intervention is likely to be closely watched both by political observers and by the EFCC itself, as the agency moves to comply with the directive while continuing its underlying investigation into the alleged financial infractions that prompted the account freeze in the first place. The outcome of that investigation, and any subsequent legal proceedings, is expected to continue independently of the electoral timeline once the immediate freeze is lifted.