Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has filed a ₦2 billion lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the restriction placed on the state’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account.
The suit, instituted before the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenges the legality of the Post-No-Debit directive issued by the anti-graft agency to First Bank Nigeria Limited.
The Attorney-General of Osun State and the state’s Accountant-General were listed as the second and third plaintiffs, respectively.
The EFCC, its chairman and First Bank were joined as the first, second and third defendants in the originating summons filed by a legal team led by M. T. Adekilekun (SAN).
The plaintiffs maintained that the restriction imposed on account number 2017170947 was unlawful, unconstitutional and capable of crippling the state government’s operations.
They also asked the court to award ₦2bn in exemplary and aggravated damages against the defendants for what they described as unlawful interference with public funds.
The state government asked the court to determine whether the EFCC and its chairman had the legal authority to freeze, block or restrict a state government’s statutory allocation account without following due process.
It relied on Sections 1, 6, 36, 44 and 162 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as provisions of the EFCC Establishment Act and the Money Laundering Prevention and Prohibition Act.
The plaintiffs argued that the anti-graft commission could not lawfully issue a Post-No-Debit directive without first obtaining and serving a valid and specific order from a court of competent jurisdiction.
They asked the court to determine whether the EFCC’s August 5, 2026 letter directing First Bank to freeze the account amounted to “an egregious act of executive lawlessness” and an unlawful resort to self-help.
The state also alleged that the action constituted an abuse of statutory powers, interfered with its constitutional responsibilities and threatened its ability to deliver services to residents.
According to the court documents, the plaintiffs are seeking a declaration that the action was a violation of “the fundamental constitutional principles of due process, the rule of law and the financial autonomy of a federating unit.”
First Bank Accused Of Breaching Duty
The Osun Government also questioned whether First Bank could lawfully restrict access to the account solely on the basis of an administrative letter from the EFCC.
It argued that the bank should not have complied with the directive without being served with a valid court order.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare that First Bank breached the duty of care owed to the state government by denying it access to the statutory account.
They maintained that the restriction was capable of disrupting salary payments, government programmes and other constitutional obligations owed to residents.
The state urged the court to prevent the bank from acting on future directives to freeze government accounts unless the instructions were issued in accordance with the law.
Among the reliefs sought is an order setting aside the EFCC’s letter with reference number CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/666, dated August 5, 2026.
The letter, signed by Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Adenike Babalola, on behalf of the Director of Investigation, directed the bank to place a Post-No-Debit restriction on the account.
The plaintiffs asked the court to declare all restrictions arising from the letter “unlawful, unconstitutional, ultra vires their powers, null and void, and of no effect whatsoever.”
They also sought “an order mandating the third defendant to forthwith unfreeze, unblock and remove all restrictions” on the account.
The state government further requested immediate and unrestricted access to the funds.
State Seeks Perpetual Injunction
Adeleke and the other plaintiffs also asked the court to issue a perpetual injunction restraining the EFCC and its chairman from interfering with the statutory account or any other Osun Government account without following due process.
They sought a similar injunction preventing First Bank, its officers and agents from complying with future restriction requests not backed by the legally required procedure.
The plaintiffs asked the court to award ₦2bn against the defendants as “exemplary and aggravated damages for the unlawful interference with public funds.”
They also demanded that the defendants bear the cost of the litigation. No date had been fixed for the hearing of the suit as of the time of filing this report.
The legal action followed the EFCC’s confirmation on Wednesday that it had restricted the state’s account as part of an investigation into the alleged mismanagement of public funds.
The commission said it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee allocations totalling about ₦11bn.
It claimed that the Post-No-Debit directive became necessary after investigators detected the movement of large sums into what it described as suspicious corporate accounts from August 2.
The agency denied that its action was connected to the August 15 governorship election, insisting that it had a duty to prevent the alleged diversion of funds under investigation.
Adeleke, however, rejected the commission’s position, describing the restriction as unconstitutional and politically suspicious because of its timing.
Tinubu Orders EFCC To Seek Account Release
The suit was filed shortly after President Bola Tinubu directed the EFCC to take steps towards lifting the restriction on the Osun State account.
In a statement personally issued on Thursday, Tinubu said he was embarrassed by the timing of the commission’s action, coming days before the governorship election.
The President, however, distinguished between the EFCC’s statutory mandate and the timing of its intervention.
He said he felt “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.”
Tinubu consequently directed the commission to approach the appropriate court and take the necessary legal steps to restore the state government’s access to the account.
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