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Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over its decision to freeze an Osun State Government account, saying the agency acted within its legal powers.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Falana said the EFCC was legally empowered to freeze government accounts where necessary, provided it approached the court within the stipulated period.
He said the President’s concerns about the action centred on its timing rather than the commission’s legal authority.
According to Falana, the EFCC can freeze the account of the Nigerian Government, a state or a local government and is required to approach the court within 72 hours.
The senior lawyer also cautioned against suggestions that anti-corruption agencies should suspend investigations because elections are approaching.
He argued that the movement of billions of naira in suspicious transactions should be investigated regardless of the electoral calendar.
The controversy began after Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke accused the EFCC of freezing one of the state’s accounts for political reasons ahead of the governorship election.
The EFCC said it acted after detecting suspicious movement of public funds into several corporate entities.
President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed the commission to approach the court to vacate the freeze, describing the timing as inauspicious.
Adeleke has since filed a ₦2bn suit against the EFCC over the account freeze.
