Account freeze: Adeleke directs Osun Attorney General to withdraw case against EFCC

Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has directed the state’s Attorney-General to withdraw the suit filed against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of the state government’s bank account.

Adeleke disclosed this in an interview with Channels Television, hours after he was declared winner of the August 15 governorship election.

The Osun government had sued the EFCC over the freezing of its statutory allocation account in the build-up to the election.

The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1762/2026 and filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja on August 5, sought to nullify the anti-graft agency’s directive and award N2 billion in exemplary damages against the commission.

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The EFCC had said it froze the account as part of an investigation into the alleged fraudulent handling of funds by the state government.

President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed the EFCC to vacate the freeze order.

The president said he was embarrassed by the development because actions taken by federal institutions were often attributed to the presidency even when he had no prior knowledge of them.

Speaking after the election, the governor said he decided to withdraw the case because of Tinubu’s intervention.

“I’m putting them behind. What else do I want? I have instructed my attorney general to drop it. Mr President has done well. He called me. What more do I want?” Adeleke asked.

On allegations that some of his aides and officials were invited for questioning by the EFCC, Adeleke said he had instructed his lawyers to assist them.

“Well, we have been talking. I have been calling all my lawyers to go there,” he said.

The governor also alleged that the EFCC invitations were politically motivated but said some officials who honoured the invitations were released after questioning.

Adeleke added that he did not believe Tinubu was aware of some of the actions attributed to federal agencies.

“Most of these things, the president doesn’t know. The president has a lot of foreign work and jobs to do,” he said.

The governor also alleged that Gboyega Oyetola, former Osun governor and Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, was behind the EFCC action because of his relationship with Tinubu.

“All these things is Oyetola because he is the cousin to the president. He is dropping the president’s name,” Adeleke said.

“I know that the president didn’t know about the EFCC one. That is why he had to call me and stop it.”