The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has come under fresh scrutiny after a court document revealed that the anti-graft agency obtained an order to freeze three Osun State Government accounts, not one as earlier reported.
The revelation has widened the controversy over the EFCC’s action and raised fresh questions about why the commission moved to restrict access to funds belonging to the state government, before President Bola Tinubu ordered the accounts unfrozen.
The accounts comprised a federal allocation account with First Bank and two joint allocation accounts domiciled with Zenith Bank, according to the fresh court document.
The development is likely to intensify criticism of the commission and its Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, with opponents of the move alleging that the account freeze was politically motivated.
The controversy erupted after the EFCC secured a court order restricting the Osun Government’s access to the accounts. The action drew widespread condemnation, particularly against the backdrop of the state’s politically charged relationship with the Federal Government.
The issue took a dramatic turn when Tinubu directed the EFCC to lift the freeze, effectively forcing the commission to reverse an action it had obtained through the courts.
The newly disclosed details have now raised further questions about the extent of the EFCC’s intervention in Osun’s finances, the grounds on which the three accounts were frozen and the circumstances surrounding the commission’s application to the court.
The development has also renewed concerns over the use of the EFCC’s account-freezing powers and whether such measures could undermine the financial autonomy of state governments when deployed against public accounts.
With the controversy escalating, pressure is mounting on the anti-graft agency to explain the allegations behind the freeze, why three accounts were targeted and why the action was ultimately reversed following the President’s intervention.