Osun State Government counsel, Prof. Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN), has said neither the state nor First Bank received any court order accompanying the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s directive that restricted access to the state’s statutory allocation account.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Adekilekun argued that the law requires a court order to be obtained and properly served especially on the bank before such a restriction can take effect.
He explained that the EFCC first wrote to First Bank. The bank later forwarded the letter to the Osun State Government and confirmed that no court order was attached.
“You will recall that after the letter was written to First Bank in Osun, which in turn transmitted the letter to the state government, the requirement of the law in this regard is that a court order must be issued and served on, especially, First Bank,” Adekilekun said. “The letter was forwarded to Osun State Government, where First Bank confirmed that no court order was attached to it.”
While acknowledging the EFCC’s statutory powers to act in cases of suspected financial crimes, the senior advocate insisted those powers must be read together with Section 7 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, which requires a court order to be served on the affected party.
“You can’t just go in and say, ‘Er, we are using our power vested in the Chairman of EFCC to now put a PND on the State Government’s statutory account,’” he said.
Adekilekun rejected suggestions that the commission could impose a temporary restriction for up to 72 hours before securing judicial authorisation. “In this regard, EFCC must get a court order. The laws are there. If you read the provision I’m talking about, Section 7 of the Money Laundering Act, it stipulates that court order must be served. It is there,” he maintained.
He also dismissed claims linking the account to money laundering, noting that it receives only allocations from the Federation Account.
The comments came shortly after human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) defended the EFCC’s action. Falana argued that the commission can freeze a state government account provided it obtains a court order within the legally prescribed period, citing a 2022 Court of Appeal decision involving Benue State.
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