The Osun State Government has taken legal action against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), challenging the agency’s decision to freeze its statutory allocation account and demanding N2 billion in exemplary damages.

 

The suit, filed before the Federal High Court in Abuja, names Governor Ademola Adeleke, the state’s Attorney-General and Accountant-General as plaintiffs. Also joined in the case are the EFCC, its Executive Chairman and First Bank of Nigeria Limited.

 

At the heart of the dispute is whether the anti-graft agency can lawfully restrict access to a state’s statutory allocation account without first obtaining an order from a court.

 

The Osun Government is asking the court to declare the action unconstitutional, unlawful and inconsistent with due process. It is also seeking an order setting aside the restriction placed on the account and a perpetual injunction preventing any future interference without judicial authorisation.

 

In addition to asking the court to void the freeze, the plaintiffs are seeking N2 billion in aggravated and exemplary damages, arguing that the action unlawfully disrupted access to public funds meant for governance.

 

The legal challenge comes barely a day after the EFCC announced that it froze the state’s accounts as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged movement of public funds into several corporate entities.

 

The commission had said its investigation began months earlier and that some state officials had already been questioned.

 

The development has, however, sparked political controversy, with the state government insisting the action was unlawful and politically motivated.

 

The lawsuit also follows President Bola Tinubu’s directive ordering the EFCC to return to court and vacate the freeze on the accounts, citing concerns over the timing of the action as Osun prepares for its August 15 governorship election.

 

The case is expected to test the limits of the EFCC’s powers over state government accounts and could set an important legal precedent on the relationship between anti-corruption investigations, due process and the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s federating units.