President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to return to court and seek the vacation of an order freezing the accounts of the Osun State government.
The president gave the directive in a statement on Thursday, August 6, 2026, following the EFCC’s reported procurement of the court order on August 5, 2026.
Tinubu said his concern was not with the EFCC exercising its statutory mandate through a court order, but with the timing of the action, coming just days before the Osun State governorship election.
He said actions taken by federal institutions are often associated with the presidency, whether or not he had prior knowledge of them.
The president maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies should be allowed to carry out their statutory responsibilities independently and professionally, without political interference.
According to Tinubu, he has deliberately refrained from directing or interfering with the operational activities of the EFCC and other investigative or prosecutorial agencies because strong institutions operating within the law are essential to democratic governance and the rule of law.
However, he said he was yet to receive full details of the circumstances that led the EFCC to approach the court for the freezing order.
Despite this, Tinubu said the timing was “inauspicious” given that Osun State was only days away from its governorship election.
He said the situation could create the impression that the EFCC or another federal agency was being used to interfere with the electoral process.
“Nothing ought to be done to give an impression that the EFCC or, indeed, any other agency of the federal government is being used to interfere with the election,” the president said.
Tinubu said his intervention was based on the need to preserve public confidence and protect the integrity, credibility and fairness of the democratic process.
He, consequently, directed the EFCC to immediately approach the court to vacate the order and discontinue its action against the Osun State government in relation to the account freeze.
The directive comes ahead of the August 15 Osun State governorship election, amid heightened political attention surrounding the activities of federal institutions in the state.
