Counsel to the Osun State Government, Professor Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN), has firmly stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is legally obligated to obtain and serve a valid court order before restricting access to the state’s statutory allocation account.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Prof. Adekilekun clarified that no court order was served on either the Osun State Government or First Bank Nigeria Limited alongside the EFCC’s directive that placed a post-no-debit restriction on the account.
He explained that after the EFCC wrote to First Bank, the bank transmitted the letter to the state government. However, the bank confirmed that no court order was attached to the directive.
“The requirement of the law in this regard is that a court order must be issued and served on, especially, First Bank,” Adekilekun stated. “The letter was forwarded to Osun State Government, where First Bank confirmed that no court order was attached to it.”
While acknowledging that the EFCC has certain statutory powers to act on suspected financial offences, the Senior Advocate stressed that these powers must be exercised in conjunction with the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
“They were trying to justify their action that if they do not do it, the account could be compromised. Yes, we agree there are some provisions of the law that say EFCC can, but if you interpret this in conjunction with Section 7 of the MLA, it says that there must be a court order served on that party,” he said.
“You can’t just go in and say, ‘Er, we are using our power vested in the Chairman of EFCC to now put a PND on the State Government’s statutory account.’
Responding to claims that the EFCC could impose a temporary restriction for up to 72 hours without a court order, Adekilekun maintained: “In this regard, EFCC must get a court order. The laws are there… if you read the provision I’m talking about, Section 7 of the Money Laundering Act, it stipulates that court order must be served. It is there.”
The counsel dismissed any suggestion of money laundering, noting that the account in question solely receives allocations from the Federation Account.
“The only money that is being transferred to that account is from the Federation Account, pure federal domain,” he added.
The development follows the EFCC’s restriction of Osun State’s Federal Statutory Allocation Account (No. 2017170947) held with First Bank, which the state government has challenged in court, seeking ₦2 billion in damages. President Bola Tinubu has since directed the EFCC to approach the court to vacate the restriction, citing the timing ahead of the state’s governorship election.
Prof. Adekilekun indicated that the state government would determine the next steps regarding the ongoing legal action.