The Osun State Government has instituted a ₦2 billion suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over the freezing of its statutory allocation account.
The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday after the EFCC directed First Bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on the state government’s account.
The state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, said the government was challenging the EFCC’s action on the grounds that it was carried out without a court order.
Jimi-Bada said Governor Ademola Adeleke had authorised him to approach the court to challenge the restriction.
According to him, although the EFCC has the authority to investigate government accounts, it cannot freeze them without obtaining a judicial order.
The state government argued that the restriction could affect its ability to meet financial obligations, including the payment of salaries and other government expenses.
Governor Adeleke also accused the anti-graft agency of attempting to disrupt the activities of the state government ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
He maintained that the action was taken without a court order and stressed that the rule of law must be respected in a democracy.
The EFCC, however, defended its decision, saying it placed the restriction after detecting suspicious transfers from government accounts to various corporate entities.
The commission said it had been investigating the alleged mismanagement of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee allocations since March.
The anti-graft agency maintained that the restriction was necessary to safeguard public funds and denied that its investigation was politically motivated.
The EFCC said its awareness of the forthcoming governorship election would not prevent it from carrying out its statutory responsibilities in protecting state funds.
The dispute has also attracted reactions from legal practitioners, with the Nigerian Bar Association questioning the legality of the EFCC’s decision to restrict the account without a court order.
The legal battle is expected to determine whether the EFCC acted within its powers and whether the restriction on the state’s statutory allocation account should remain in place.
