Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has filed a ₦2 billion lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), challenging what he described as the unlawful freezing of the state’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account.
The suit, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, also lists the Attorney General of Osun State and the state’s Accountant General as the second and third plaintiffs, respectively.
Named as first to third defendants are the EFCC, its Chairman, and First Bank of Nigeria Limited. The originating summons was filed by a legal team led by M.T. Adekilekun, SAN.
In the suit, the plaintiffs are asking the court to determine whether the EFCC has the legal authority under the 1999 Constitution, the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, to freeze or place a post-no-debit restriction on the state’s statutory allocation account without first obtaining a valid court order.
They are also asking the court to decide whether the EFCC’s August 5, 2026 directive to First Bank to freeze the account was unlawful and whether the bank acted within the law by complying with the directive in the absence of a court order.
According to the plaintiffs, the freezing of the account amounts to executive lawlessness, an abuse of statutory powers, a violation of due process, and an infringement on the constitutional and financial autonomy of Osun State.
Among the reliefs sought, the plaintiffs are asking the court to:
- Declare the freezing of the account unconstitutional, unlawful, null and void.
- Set aside the EFCC’s directive to First Bank and order the immediate removal of all restrictions on the account.
- Restrain the EFCC from freezing or interfering with any Osun State Government account in future without due process and a valid court order.
- Restrain First Bank from acting on any such directive unless it is backed by a court order.
- Award ₦2 billion as exemplary and aggravated damages for the alleged unlawful interference with public funds, in addition to the cost of the suit.
No hearing date has been fixed.
The lawsuit comes shortly after President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to approach the court to facilitate the unfreezing of the Osun State Federal Statutory Allocation Account.
The EFCC on Wednesday confirmed that it froze the state’s bank account, insisting the action was taken to prevent the alleged movement of public funds under investigation and was unrelated to the forthcoming governorship election.
According to the commission, it has been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent management of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations amounting to about ₦11 billion.
Governor Adeleke has, however, described the action as unconstitutional.
Amid the controversy, President Tinubu said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the EFCC’s action. In a statement issued on Thursday, the President said his concern was not with the commission’s statutory mandate or the existence of a court order, but with the timing of the account freeze.
