EFCC Opens Up on Controversial Freeze of Osun Government Account

EFCC Opens Up on Controversial Freeze of Osun Government Account

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained the circumstances that led to the freezing of the Osun State Government’s bank account, insisting the action was aimed at protecting public funds rather than influencing the state’s forthcoming governorship election.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the anti-graft agency said it had been investigating the finances of the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged mismanagement of about ₦11 billion from Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

According to the commission, several state officials, including the Accountant-General, have already been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.

The EFCC said it initially had no intention of restricting the state’s accounts but changed course after allegedly detecting what it described as suspicious transfers of large sums of money to several corporate accounts beginning on August 2.

The commission said it acted swiftly by placing a Post No Debit order on the affected accounts to prevent what it believes could have resulted in the diversion of public funds.

Although the account freeze came just days before the Osun governorship election, the EFCC maintained that the timing was dictated solely by developments uncovered during its investigation and not by political considerations.

It stressed that allowing the transactions to continue simply because of the approaching election would have amounted to abandoning its statutory responsibility to protect public resources.

The anti-corruption agency also disclosed that Osun is not the only state under its watch, revealing that it is monitoring the financial activities of several other state governments as part of efforts to promote transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.

Reaffirming its neutrality, the commission said its operations are guided by the law and are carried out without political, ethnic or sectional bias.

The EFCC urged Nigerians to disregard what it described as misleading narratives surrounding the account freeze, insisting that its intervention was undertaken solely in the interest of safeguarding public funds.