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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has directed a bank to freeze the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account as part of an ongoing investigation, according to a letter on Wednesday, hours after Governor Ademola Adeleke alleged the move was a plot to cripple his administration ahead of the August 15 governorship election.
The directive, contained in a letter dated August 5 and signed by Assistant Commander Adenike Babalola for the Director of Investigation, instructed First Bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on the account pending the conclusion of the probe.
The letter, referenced 3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/666, identified the affected account as “Osun State Government Statutory Allocation” with account number 2017170947.
The commission stated that the directive followed an earlier correspondence dated April 15, 2026, and was made pursuant to Section 38(1) and (2) of the EFCC Establishment Act, 2004, and Section 24 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The letter read, “Refer to our letter CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/165 dated 15th April, 2026 on the above subject.
“In furtherance to the above, you are kindly requested to place a Post-No-Debit on the account. This request is made pursuant to Section 38 (1) & (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and Section 24 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“Thank you for your usual cooperation, please.”
Hours before the account was frozen, Adeleke had raised the alarm over an alleged EFCC plot to freeze all state government accounts and those of top government functionaries, describing the plan as “the height of lawlessness.”
In a statement issued Wednesday by Information Commissioner Kolapo Alimi, the governor said the move was designed to paralyse government activities ahead of the August 15 poll.
“There is no legal basis or justification for any push to freeze the state government accounts,” Adeleke said in the statement.
“The anti-graft agency has no legal powers to freeze the account of a state government.”
But sources within the anti-graft agency told Punch that the investigation into the Osun State government had been ongoing for more than a year, with several senior officials previously invited to make written statements.
“We have been investigating the government for over a year. In fact, some top officials of the government had been invited; they came and wrote statements. So it is not because of the forthcoming election,” one source said.
