President Bola Tinubu’s directive instructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to reverse its restriction on an Osun State Government bank account has sparked fresh political turmoil.
While legal practitioners and civil society groups supported the executive intervention, opposition leaders challenged the President’s explanation, the state government launched a major lawsuit, and citizens across social media demanded the resignation or dismissal of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
The controversy began when the anti-graft agency imposed a Post No Debit restriction on Osun’s statutory allocation account at First Bank, citing an investigation into the suspected diversion and laundering of approximately ₦11 billion in public funds.
Tinubu orders freeze vacated over election timing
In a personally signed statement released on Thursday, President Tinubu directed the EFCC to approach the Federal High Court to vacate the freezing order and discontinue its proceedings.
The President explained that while he supported anti-corruption enforcement, the timing of the action—coming just days before the August 15 Osun governorship election—was inauspicious and risked creating the impression that federal agencies were interfering in the democratic process.
Defending its initial move, EFCC Director of Public Affairs Wilson Uwujaren stated that the commission acted under Section 34 of the EFCC Act and Section 7(6) of the Money Laundering Act, which allow temporary 72-hour restrictions on accounts showing suspicious activity.
Uwujaren emphasised that the probe had been ongoing since March 2026, that only one account was targeted following sudden high-volume transfers, and that the intervention was strictly non-partisan.
Osun State files ₦2 billion lawsuit against EFCC
Unmoved by the President’s intervention, the Osun State Government initiated legal proceedings against the EFCC, its executive chairman, and First Bank of Nigeria at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In the suit filed by Governor Ademola Adeleke alongside the state’s Attorney-General and Accountant-General, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare the account freeze unconstitutional, null, and void.
The state contends that administrative directives cannot override constitutional state autonomy or restrict public funds without explicit prior judicial authorisation.
Osun is seeking an order setting aside the freeze, a perpetual injunction against future administrative restrictions, and ₦2 billion in exemplary damages for executive lawlessness.
State officials further dismissed the EFCC’s corruption allegations as an afterthought, alleging that the restriction was politically motivated to prevent the administration from paying promised worker palliatives ahead of the election.
Opposition leaders challenge Presidential intervention
The political opposition reacted sharply to the developments, arguing that the President’s directive exposed direct political control over supposedly independent anti-graft bodies.
African Democratic Congress (ADC) spokesperson Bolaji Abdullahi welcomed the reversal but pointed out inconsistencies, noting that President Tinubu repeatedly cited a court order that the EFCC itself had never mentioned obtaining in its public statements. Abdullahi urged the President to apply the same standard to other cases, such as directing anti-corruption agencies to cease opposing bail for former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar similarly argued through his spokesperson that the President’s directive completely undermined claims of operational independence for the EFCC.
Atiku warned that freezing a state’s main allocation account on the eve of an election disrupts basic governance, delays public worker salaries, and creates an environment of political intimidation.
Public outrage and calls for Olukoyede’s resignation
The controversy triggered widespread public backlash across social media platforms, with commentators, legal analysts, and citizens calling for the removal or resignation of EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede.
Critics on X and Facebook argued that under Olukoyede’s leadership, the anti-graft agency had compromised its institutional neutrality and allowed itself to be weaponised for political score-settling. Commentators noted that by publicly reversing the commission’s move to prevent electoral interference, the Presidency had effectively highlighted serious operational errors by the agency’s leadership.
Conversely, constitutional lawyer Tokunbo Afikuyomi praised the President’s decision, describing it as a victory for electoral fairness that respected the separation of powers by directing the EFCC to seek relief through the courts rather than attempting to override the process by executive decree.
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) Executive Director Auwal Musa Rafsanjani added that the episode underscored the urgent need to harmonise statutory anti-corruption powers with constitutional guarantees of state financial autonomy.
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