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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Elections & Politics

Osun account freeze: No court order was served, says state counsel

From The Punch · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Osun State Government's counsel asserts that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) did not serve a court order before restricting access to the state's statutory allocation account.
  • The counsel argues that Nigerian law, specifically the Money Laundering Act, requires a court order to be issued and served for such restrictions.
  • The EFCC's action is being challenged as potentially politically motivated, despite claims by the EFCC of suspicious transactions.

A legal representative for the Osun State Government has challenged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission's (EFCC) decision to freeze the state's statutory allocation account. Professor Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN), the government's counsel, stated on Channels Television that no court order was served on the state government or First Bank, where the account is domiciled, before the restriction was imposed.

The letter was forwarded to Osun State Government, where First Bank confirmed that no court order was attached to it.

— Prof. Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN)The Osun State Government's counsel explained the lack of a court order accompanying the EFCC's restriction on the state's account.

Adekilekun emphasized that Nigerian law mandates the issuance and service of a court order, particularly on the bank, before an account can be restricted. He noted that while the EFCC's letter to the bank was forwarded to the state government, the bank confirmed the absence of any accompanying court order. This, he argued, contravenes Section 7 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

You can’t just go in and say, ‘Er, we are using our power vested in the Chairman of EFCC to now put a PND on the State Government’s statutory account.’

— Prof. Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN)The counsel argued against the EFCC's unilateral action in restricting the state government's account.

The EFCC had ordered a Post No Bill on the account, citing suspicious transactions. However, Adekilekun dismissed allegations of money laundering, stating the account is solely used for receiving allocations from the Federation Account. He maintained that the EFCC cannot unilaterally impose restrictions using the chairman's powers without adhering to legal procedures, even if they suspect financial offenses. This position contrasts with that of human rights lawyer Femi Falana, who suggested the EFCC's actions might not be illegal.

See, in this regard, EFCC must get a court order. The laws are there.

— Prof. Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN)The counsel insisted on the legal requirement for a court order before the EFCC can restrict an account.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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