President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government.
The President gave the directive in a personally signed statement on Thursday, August 6, saying that although the anti-graft agency acted within its legal powers by obtaining a court order, the timing of the action, just days before the August 15 governorship election in Osun State, was inappropriate.
Tinubu said he was deeply embarrassed by the development because Nigerians often associate the actions of federal agencies with the Presidency, even when he has no prior knowledge of such decisions.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government,” he said.
“I must state that I feel 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.”
The President stressed that he has consistently allowed anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies to perform their constitutional duties without political interference, insisting that his administration remains committed to strengthening institutions and allowing them to operate independently within the law.
However, he maintained that the circumstances surrounding the EFCC’s action warranted presidential intervention.
“While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene,” Tinubu said.
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He warned that no action by any federal institution should create the impression that government agencies are being used to influence the outcome of elections.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election. Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election,” he said.
Tinubu said he had instructed the anti-graft agency to immediately reverse the court order and halt all legal proceedings relating to the freezing of the state’s accounts.
“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,” he said.
The EFCC had earlier secured a court order freezing the Osun State Government’s bank accounts over alleged suspicious financial transactions.
The move drew widespread criticism from the state government and opposition figures, who argued that freezing the accounts could disrupt governance and cast a shadow over the credibility of the August 15 governorship election.