The Osun state government has threatened legal actions against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over the freezing of its allocation account with First Bank.
Oluwole Jimi-Bada, Osun attorney-general and commissioner for justice, spoke on Wednesday during an interview with journalists in Osogbo, the state capital.
In a letter dated August 5, 2026, and signed by Adenike Babalola, assistant commander of the EFCC on behalf of the director of investigation, the anti-graft agency directed First Bank not to allow withdrawals from the Osun state government’s statutory allocation account as part of an ongoing investigation.
The letter, referenced 3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/666, was addressed to the managing director of First Bank, with attention to the chief compliance officer.
The agency instructed the bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on the account pending the conclusion of the probe.
The EFCC identified the affected account as “Osun State Government Statutory Allocation” with account number 2017170947.
The EFCC said the directive followed an earlier correspondence dated April 15, 2026.
“Refer to our letter CR:3000/EFCC/ABJ/HQ/PFS/TA/OSUN/VOL.17/165 dated 15th April, 2026 on the above subject,” the letter reads.
“In furtherance to the above, you are kindly requested to place a Post-No-Debit on the account. This request is made pursuant to Section 38 (1) & (2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 and Section 24 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022. Thank you for your usual cooperation, please.”
Jimi-Bada said the post-no-debit letter from the EFCC was sent to First Bank management on Wednesday, adding that the move would hamper government operations in the coming days.
“This step will affect government running, but we will challenge the move and ensure that the agency acts within the ambit of the law,” Jimi-Bada said.
Sola Ogungbile, commissioner for finance, who was also at the briefing, alleged that police operatives had stormed the main branch of First Bank in Osogbo and arrested some staff members of the bank.
The development followed an alarm raised by Ademola Adeleke, governor of Osun, that the anti-graft agency had concluded plans to freeze all bank accounts belonging to the state government ahead of the governorship election slated for August 15.
In a statement on Wednesday, Kolapo Alimi, commissioner for information and public enlightenment, said the governor raised the alarm on Tuesday at the government house in Osogbo.
Alimi alleged that the anti-graft agency also planned to extend the freeze to the accounts of top government functionaries.
According to the statement, Adeleke said such a move, if true, would amount to “the height of lawlessness”, adding that “the plot to freeze the state government accounts is meant to paralyse government activities ahead of the governorship election.”
When contacted for a reaction, Dele Oyewale, EFCC spokesperson, promised to revert.
While he was yet to do so as of the time of filing this report, a source confirmed the letter to the Punch.
The source, however, said the investigation into the Osun state government did not begin recently, insisting that the probe had been ongoing for more than a year.
