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.
In a personally signed statement issued on Thursday, the president said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the action, which came days before the state’s governorship election. Although the EFCC obtained a valid court order on August 5, Tinubu stressed that he had no prior knowledge of the move.
“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. 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 said. “This is so because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.”
Tinubu reaffirmed his commitment to the independence of anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies. He noted that since assuming office he has deliberately refrained from interfering in their operational activities, insisting that strong democratic institutions operating within the law are essential to good governance.
However, he said the circumstances surrounding the latest EFCC action required presidential intervention. With the Osun governorship election only days away, he warned that nothing should create the impression that federal institutions are being used to influence the electoral process.
“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,” Tinubu stated.
Citing the overriding public interest in preserving confidence in the integrity, credibility and fairness of Nigeria’s democratic process, the president directed the EFCC to proceed to court without delay to vacate the order and discontinue related action against the Osun State Government.
The directive follows the EFCC’s defence a day earlier that the account freeze formed part of an ongoing investigation and was not intended to influence the forthcoming election.
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