President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the bank accounts of the Osun State Government.
The directive was contained in a personally signed statement issued on Thursday, expressing concern over the circumstances surrounding the freezing of the state government’s accounts.
Tinubu said the timing of the EFCC’s action, coming just days before the August 15 governorship election in the state, could create the impression that the Federal Government was interfering in the electoral process.
The president said he was “deeply embarrassed” by the timing of the EFCC’s action, while acknowledging that the commission had acted pursuant to a court order.
“It has come to my notice that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government. I must state that I feel 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,” he said.
The President reiterated that since assuming office, he had maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to perform their statutory duties independently, professionally and without fear, favour or political interference.
He said he had deliberately refrained from directing or interfering with the operational activities of the EFCC and other investigative and prosecutorial agencies because strong democratic institutions operating within the law were essential to democratic governance and the rule of law.
Tinubu said he had not been fully briefed on the facts that informed the EFCC’s decision to obtain the freezing order but described the timing as inauspicious.
According to him, with the Osun governorship election only days away, nothing should be done to create the impression that the EFCC or any other federal agency was being deployed to interfere with the electoral process.
“Based on the foregoing premise, I am duty-bound to issue a directive on this issue in consonance with the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility, and fairness of our democratic process,” the President said.
Tinubu consequently directed the EFCC to immediately return to court to vacate the order freezing the Osun State Government’s accounts.
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