President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.
The directive was contained in a State House statement personally signed by President Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on August 6, 2026.
Tinubu said he was deeply embarrassed by the timing of the EFCC’s action, particularly because Osun State was only days away from its governorship election.
According to the President, although the anti-graft agency acted within its statutory mandate and obtained a court order, the timing was capable of creating the impression that the Federal Government was attempting to influence the election.
“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,” Tinubu said.
“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.
“This is so because every action taken by an institution of State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to me, as the President, even when I may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.”
The President reaffirmed his commitment to the independence of anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, stressing that he had consistently avoided interfering in their operational activities since assuming office.
“Since assuming office, I have consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference,” he stated.
“I have therefore deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because I firmly believe that strong democratic institutions, operating within the confines of the law, are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.”
Tinubu said institutions of state should ordinarily be allowed to exercise the powers conferred on them by law without seeking prior presidential approval.
“As President, I am committed to allowing institutions of State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for any prior approval,” he said.
“Indeed, that is why institutions are set up by law with clearly defined powers.”
The President, however, acknowledged that he had not yet been fully briefed on the facts that prompted the EFCC to approach the court for the freezing order.
He nevertheless maintained that the timing of the action was inappropriate and compelled him to intervene in the overriding public interest.
“While I am yet to be fully apprised of the facts which informed the action of EFCC in approaching the court to obtain the said order freezing the Osun State Government account, I am not in the slightest doubt that the timing of the action of EFCC is inauspicious, and therefore I feel compelled to intervene,” Tinubu said.
He warned that no federal institution should take any action capable of casting doubt on the credibility, fairness or integrity of the Osun governorship election.
“Osun State is only a few days away from its gubernatorial election,” the President said.
“Therefore, nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or indeed any other agency of the Federal Government is being used to interfere with the election.”
Tinubu said the directive was necessary to protect public confidence in the democratic process and prevent the EFCC’s action from being interpreted as politically motivated.
“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,” he stated.
“Accordingly, I have directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to the court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it has instituted against the Osun State Government in this regard.”
