Can EFCC freeze a state government account? This is what Lawyers have to say

Several prominent Nigerian lawyers have weighed in on the powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to shut down or freeze a state government’s bank account.

Their respective assessments followed the explanation the EFCC gave for freezing the Osun State Government’s bank accounts.

Amid widespread reactions trailing the development, President Bola Tinubu on Thursday ordered the Commission to vacate the freezing order it obtained against the state, describing the timing of its action as “embarrassing.”

In exclusive interviews with Nairametrics, prominent lawyers explored the legal basis for the EFCC’s power to freeze a state government’s bank account, if any.

What Nigerian lawyers are saying

Chief R.O. Balogun SAN said the question of whether the EFCC has the power to freeze the account of a state government depends on the facts and circumstances of each particular case.

For instance, he noted that the Court of Appeal recently ruled that, with respect to the public accounts of Ekiti State, the exclusive right to investigate and audit those accounts is vested in the Auditor-General of Ekiti State and the State House of Assembly.
He explained, however, that Section 7(1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2022 specifically relates to situations where there is a frequency of transactions that is unreasonable and unjustifiable, prompting a financial institution to regard them as suspicious.
According to him, the law recognizes that an individual’s bank account is confidential. Therefore, the EFCC should not have access to it to monitor the movement of funds unless a financial institution or bank reports suspicious activity.

Citing Section 34 of the EFCC Act, 2004, he said it is the Commission conducting the investigation that must seek a court order to scrutinize or even freeze an account.

He added that if it is established that the letter or request to freeze the Osun State Government’s account with the affected bank came from the EFCC, and not the bank, then the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2022 would be totally inapplicable.

He opined: “There must be a court order sought and obtained to freeze the accounts in line with Section 34 of the EFCC Act.”

George Ibrahim, SAN, said the EFCC lacks the power to freeze the account of a state government because doing so would make it difficult for the state to carry out its core responsibilities of governance.

“If the account of a state government is frozen, how do you expect the state to meet its obligations? How are salaries going to be paid? How is security going to be funded?” he asked.

He said the federal government has its own modus operandi while the states have theirs. As such, the Commission cannot interfere with the governance of a state while there is a subsisting government in office.

He stressed that it is well settled by the Supreme Court in Fayemi v. IGP that during the tenure of a governor, he can be investigated, but the EFCC can only prosecute after the governor leaves office.

He explained that Nigeria practises constitutional democracy and that everything must be done in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

He said the only thing the EFCC can do is investigate the state’s accounts, but not unilaterally freeze them.

To freeze an account, the senior lawyer said, the EFCC must first approach the court to obtain an order.

“Where is the order of the court?

“If the court is satisfied, it can make an interim order freezing the account, but not the EFCC doing so unilaterally,” he said.

On his part, Chris Ekemezie, Esq., said not even a court can shut down a state government, adding that governance must run 24 hours a day because a state government is “semi-sovereign.”

He said the powers of the courts to sanction any officer of the state do not extend to freezing the account of a state government for any reason whatsoever.

“It is like the EFCC going to court to ask the court to freeze the account of the Federal Government or the Federation. It doesn’t have such powers,” he added.

He opined that what is happening in Osun State between the EFCC and the state government basically has a political undertone.

He concluded that neither the EFCC nor the courts have the power to freeze the account of an organ of government or a functional state, which is independent of the Federal Government.

Nairametrics also reached out to Raji Ahmed, SAN.

However, the senior lawyer declined to comment on the merits or demerits of the development, adding that “anybody who is aggrieved should quickly approach the court.”

Backstory

On Wednesday, the EFCC broke its silence on why it froze the bank accounts of the Osun State Government.

According to the Commission, its ongoing investigation into the state government would not have warranted the placement of a Post No Debit (PND) order on the accounts but for the alleged precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts into different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
Reacting, the Osun State Government sued the EFCC over the freezing of its statutory allocation account.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1762/2026, filed on August 5 before the Federal High Court in Abuja, the plaintiffs urged the court to nullify the anti-graft agency’s directive and award N2 billion in exemplary damages against the Commission.