The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has defended its decision to freeze the statutory bank account of the Osun State Government, insisting that its action is backed by law and aimed at protecting public funds.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, August 6, the EFCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, said the agency acted within the powers granted to it under the EFCC Establishment Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Uwujaren maintained that placing a temporary restriction on the account would not cripple the activities of the Osun State Government because the state still has access to funds in other accounts.
According to him, the restriction will remain in force for 72 hours, after which the commission would approach the court for a further order if it considers it necessary.
“A number of people have asked whether the commission has the power to do so under the law. I can assure you that we have the power to place a temporary restriction on an account,” Uwujaren said.
“Section 34 of the EFCC Act and Section 7, Subsection 6 of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022 give us that authority to take that step.
“The restriction order can last within 72 hours before we can come with a court order if we need to provide a court order.”
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Uwujaren said the commission decided to act after observing a recurring pattern in many states where incoming administrations often complain that public treasuries had been depleted shortly before they assumed office.
He cited Section 34(1) of the EFCC Act, which empowers the commission to seek a court order to freeze accounts believed to contain proceeds of crime, as well as Section 7(6) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, which authorises the agency to place a temporary stop order on suspicious accounts or transactions for up to 72 hours.
Responding to questions about whether the EFCC took similar action during the June 2026 governorship election in Ekiti State, Uwujaren said there was no reason for such intervention because the agency did not detect suspicious financial activities.
He, however, said the situation in Osun was similar to what happened ahead of the 2024 governorship election in Edo State, where the commission also froze the state government’s account after noticing what it described as suspicious transfers.
“Osun state is not the first state we are taking this kind of action,” Uwujaren said.
“During the Edo state election, before the coming into office of governor Okpebholo, EFCC also took action to restrict the account of that state government when we saw that funds were being moved to suspicious accounts.
“We were able to protect 12 billion for them. That is why the current government was able to come on board and had resources to work,” he added.