Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the Osun State Government’s account. He said the anti-graft agency acted within the law after obtaining the required court order.
Falana stated this on Friday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today. He explained that existing court judgments recognise the EFCC’s authority to freeze government accounts under specific legal conditions.
Falana cites court rulings
The senior lawyer said the legality of the EFCC’s powers had already been settled by the courts. According to him, the Court of Appeal resolved the issue in a 2022 judgment involving the Benue State Government and the EFCC.
Introducing his position, Falana said:
“Well, as far as the law is concerned, the EFCC has not acted illegally. As a matter of fact, that came out in the statement of the President: ‘We are… I’m not questioning your mandate and the exercise of your power. However, I’m embarrassed.'”
He explained that the EFCC can place a Post No Debit (PND) restriction on a government account for up to 72 hours before obtaining a court order.
“Under the law, the EFCC has the power to freeze the account of the federal government or of any state or local government in Nigeria.”
Appeal Court affirmed EFCC powers
Falana recalled that a Federal High Court in Benue State ruled in 2019 that the EFCC lacked the power to freeze the state’s account. The court also awarded ₦50 million in damages against the commission.
However, he said the EFCC appealed the judgment. According to him, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision in September 2022 and affirmed the commission’s powers.
“That remains the law in Nigeria today.”
Supreme Court also backed anti-graft agencies
The SAN also referred to a 2024 Supreme Court judgment involving the Kogi State Government and several other states. He said the states challenged the powers of anti-corruption agencies to investigate government accounts.
According to Falana, the Supreme Court upheld the powers of the EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to investigate public accounts at all levels of government.
He maintained that anyone seeking to change the current legal position should approach the National Assembly.
“If Nigerians—those who are concerned—want the law changed, they can go to the National Assembly. But for now, as of today, EFCC has the power to freeze the account of any state and, in not more than 72 hours, has to go to court.”
Falana defends EFCC action in Osun case
Falana said the EFCC followed the required legal procedure in the Osun case by obtaining a court order before restricting the account.
“In this instance, the EFCC went to court, and the Federal High Court intervened based on information provided by the EFCC.”
The controversy followed the commission’s decision to restrict an Osun State statutory allocation account during an investigation into the alleged diversion of about ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations.
The EFCC said the restriction was temporary and affected only one account. It also maintained that the action complied with the EFCC Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Falana reacts to Tinubu’s directive
President Bola Tinubu later directed the EFCC to approach the court to vacate the freezing order and discontinue the action. The President cited the timing of the restriction, coming days before the August 15 Osun governorship election.
However, Falana noted that the Osun State Government had challenged the legality of the court order rather than its timing.
“The President referred to the order obtained by the EFCC. And as should be done, the Osun State government has challenged the legality, the validity of the order, not the timing.”
Warns against suspending investigations during elections
Falana cautioned against creating the impression that anti-corruption agencies should suspend investigations whenever elections are approaching. According to him, such an approach could weaken the fight against corruption.
“Because we must also be very careful that we don’t give a dangerous impression that when elections are 10 days away, 20 days away, 30 days away, the anti-graft agencies must turn the other eye… It’s a very dangerous impression that is being created.”
Read also: Osun: ‘Tinubu Should Have Respected EFCC’s Independence’ – Falana
