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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that 18 states are currently under investigation over alleged mismanagement of public funds.
The EFCC Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed this on Thursday during an interview on Arise Television, while responding to questions about the commission’s restriction of an Osun State Government account.
However, Uwujaren refused to name the states involved, saying revealing their identities could affect ongoing investigations.
“Like we said in the statement, there are about 18 other states that we have ongoing investigations,” he said.
While insisting on why the states could not be revealed, he explained that the decision was to protect the integrity of the investigations.
“Not running away per se, but not to jeopardise the investigation that is currently ongoing,” Uwujaren said.
The EFCC spokesman said the action against Osun State was not an isolated case, noting that the commission had previously restricted an Edo State Government account over suspected movement of funds into suspicious accounts.
He said the intervention helped preserve about $12 billion for the state before the emergence of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
“This is not targeted at any particular government. We are simply doing our work under the law,” Uwujaren said.
On the Osun account restriction, he clarified that the EFCC only froze one statutory account temporarily, while other state accounts remained operational.
“We only targeted one statutory account, which is restricted, temporary restriction on that account. And it does not stop the government from operating other accounts that they have,” he said.
Uwujaren added that the commission has 72 hours to obtain a court order to continue the restriction or lift it.
He said the EFCC’s powers to restrict accounts suspected of suspicious activities are backed by Section 34 of the EFCC Act and Section 7(6) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2022.
The EFCC official also stated that the Osun investigation did not begin recently, revealing that it started in March and had involved questioning some state officials.
“The Osun State case didn’t start today. It started way back in March,” he said.
The disclosure is expected to increase scrutiny of state government finances, following recent concerns over the EFCC’s restriction of the Osun State Government account.
