President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately proceed to court to vacate the order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.
In a State House statement issued on Thursday, August 6, 2026, the President said it had come to his notice that the EFCC obtained a court order on August 5, 2026, freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.
Tinubu said he felt deeply embarrassed, not by the EFCC’s exercise of its mandate backed by a court order, but by the timing of the agency’s action.
According to him, every action taken by an institution of the State, especially at the Federal level, is always credited to him as President, even when he may not have had any prior knowledge of the action.
The President stated that since assuming office, he has consistently maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies must be allowed to discharge their statutory responsibilities independently, professionally, without fear or favour, or political interference.
He said he had deliberately refrained from directing or interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or any other investigative or prosecutorial agency because he firmly believes that strong democratic institutions operating within the confines of the law are indispensable to democratic good governance and the rule of law.
Tinubu further stated that as President, he remains committed to allowing institutions of the State to function and take any action they consider necessary in the interest of proper governance without the need for prior approval, noting that institutions are established by law with clearly defined powers.
He, however, said that while he was yet to be fully apprised of the facts that informed the EFCC’s decision to approach the court and obtain the order freezing the Osun State Government’s accounts, he was in no doubt that the timing of the action was inauspicious and therefore felt compelled to intervene.
The President noted that Osun State is only a few days away from its governorship election and stressed that nothing should be done to create the impression that the EFCC or any other agency of the Federal Government was being used to interfere with the election.
He said that, based on the overriding public interest in preserving public confidence and the integrity, credibility and fairness of the democratic process, he was duty-bound to issue a directive on the matter.
Accordingly, Tinubu directed the EFCC to immediately proceed to court to vacate the order and discontinue whatever action it had instituted against the Osun State Government in that regard.
