EFCC explains why it froze Osun govt accounts

The EFCC has explained that it froze the Osun State Government’s bank accounts to prevent the alleged diversion of public funds, following suspicious transfers detected since August 2 amid an ongoing investigation into about N11 billion in Ecology, Intervention and FAAC funds.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has explained why it froze the bank accounts of the Osun State Government, saying the action was taken to prevent the alleged diversion of public funds despite the state’s August 15 governorship election.

The anti-graft agency disclosed this in a statement posted on its official X account on Wednesday, saying it had been investigating the Osun State Government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of about N11bn in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and allocations from the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

According to the commission, some officials of the state government, including the Accountant General, had already been questioned as part of the ongoing investigation.

According to The Punch, the EFCC said the investigation alone would not have warranted freezing the accounts, but claimed it detected suspicious movement of funds from the government’s accounts beginning August 2.

“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026,” the statement read.

“The Commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” it added.

Defending its decision, the commission said it had a legal responsibility to protect public funds and could not ignore suspicious financial transactions because of the forthcoming governorship poll.

“The Commission’s preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources. The Commission cannot watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged… It will be uncharitable for the Commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it stated.