The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission says it froze the bank accounts of the Osun State Government, to prevent the alleged diversion of public funds ahead of the state’s August 15 governorship election.
The anti-graft agency disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X handle on Wednesday, noting that it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of about N11bn in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.
According to the commission, some officials of the state government, including the Accountant General, had already been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.
The EFCC said the investigation alone would not have warranted freezing the accounts, but claimed it detected suspicious movement of funds from the government’s accounts beginning from August 2nd, 2026.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” the statement read.
Defending its decision, the commission said it had a legal responsibility to protect public funds and could not ignore suspicious financial transactions because of the forthcoming governorship poll.
“The Commission’s preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources.
“The Commission cannot watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged. While the Commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state.
“It will be uncharitable for the Commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it stated.
The EFCC further disclosed that Osun was not the only state under investigation, saying it was monitoring the finances of several other state governments.
“It is equally needful to state that the Commission is keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the Commission to ensure accountability and probity.
“The Commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted,” the statement added.
It however urged Nigerians to ignore what it described as false narratives surrounding the action, noting that their interests are greater and will always be protected by the Commission.
PUNCH reports that the explanation came hours after the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, had in an interview, challenged the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede to publicly justify the freezing of the state’s accounts, describing the action as illegal, with a claim that it was carried out without a court order.
The Governor also directed the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, SAN, to challenge the action at the Federal High Court in Osogbo.
