Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission acted within the ambits of the law by freezing the Osun State government’s account.
Falana stated that the EFCC has the legal ability to freeze a state government’s account as long as it gets a court order within the specified time frame.
Falana announced this on Friday while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
The SAN said that the validity of the commission’s powers had been determined by the courts, citing a 2022 Court of Appeal decision in a case involving the Benue State Government and the EFCC.
“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,’” Falana said.
He stated that the EFCC could place a Post No Debit restriction on a government account for not more than 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,” he said.
He recalled that in 2019, the Federal High Court in Benue State had ruled that the EFCC lacked the power to freeze the state’s account and awarded N50m in damages against the commission.
Falana stated that the EFCC appealed the decision and that the Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered in September 2022, held that the commission had the power to freeze the account and place a PND restriction for not more than 72 hours before obtaining a court order.
“That remains the law in Nigeria today,” he said.
He also cited a 2024 Supreme Court judgment arising from a challenge by the Kogi State Government and other states to the powers of anti-corruption agencies to investigate state accounts.
“In 2024, the Kogi State government, joined by many state governments, challenged the investigation—the probing of state accounts by EFCC, ICPC, or NFIU. And in a historic judgment, the Supreme Court examined all the relevant laws and came to the conclusion that these agencies have the power to probe the accounts of any organization, either at the federal, state, or local government [level]. That remains the law in Nigeria,” he said.
Falana mentioned that anyone seeking a change to the existing 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,” he said.
According to him, the EFCC went to court in the Osun matter, and the Federal High Court relied on information presented by the agency.
“In this instance, the EFCC went to court, and the Federal High Court intervened based on information provided by the EFCC,” he stated.
The statements came amid a debate about the EFCC’s restriction of an Osun State statutory allocation account.
The commission investigated the alleged illegal management of approximately ₦11 billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds, and Federation Account Allocation Committee allocations and took action due to unusual fund movement.
“The President referred to the order obtained by the EFCC. And as should be done, the Osun State government has challenged the legality and the validity of the order, not the timing,” he said.
He warned against creating the impression that anti-corruption agencies should suspend investigations whenever elections are approaching.
“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, or 30 days away, the anti-graft agencies must turn the other eye—’Don’t look at the state or the federal government.’ And so if funds are being moved to the tune of billions of naira, ‘Don’t look at them—I mean, don’t look at those funds because elections are coming.’ It’s a very dangerous impression that is being created,” Falana said.
