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

Counsel to the Osun State Government, Prof. Mubarak Adekilekun (SAN), has said neither the state government nor First Bank was served with a court order before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission restricted access to the state’s statutory allocation account.

 

Adekilekun made the claim on Friday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, amid the controversy surrounding the EFCC’s restriction of the account.

 

According to him, the law required a court order to be issued and served, particularly on the bank, before the restriction could be imposed.

 

He said the EFCC’s letter directing First Bank to restrict access to the account was subsequently forwarded to the state government, but the bank confirmed that no court order was attached.

 

“You will recall that after the letter was written to First Bank in Osun, which in turn transmitted the letter to the state government, the requirement of the law in this regard is that a court order must be issued and served on, especially, First Bank.

 

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

 

The SAN acknowledged that the EFCC had statutory powers to act on suspected financial offences but argued that such powers must be exercised in accordance with the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.

 

“They were trying to justify their action that if they do not do it, the account could be compromised. Yes, we agree there are some provisions of the law that say EFCC can, but if you interpret this in conjunction with Section 7 of the MLA, it says that there must be a court order served on that party.

 

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

 

Asked whether the EFCC could restrict an account for up to 72 hours before obtaining a court order, Adekilekun maintained that a court order was required in the circumstances.

 

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

 

“If you read the provision I’m talking about, Section 7 of the Money Laundering Act, it stipulates that court order must be served. It is there,” he insisted.

 

Adekilekun also dismissed allegations of money laundering, saying the account was used solely to receive allocations from the Federation Account.

 

“You can’t do an act of this magnitude and just say you are transmitting a letter to put a PND on a state government account. The only money that is being transferred to that account is from the Federation Account, pure federal domain. That’s one of the requirements,” he said.

 

However, human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had earlier defended the EFCC’s action, saying the commission had the legal authority to restrict a state government account, subject to the applicable legal requirements.

 

Falana, who spoke on the controversy, cited a 2022 Court of Appeal judgment involving the Benue State Government and the EFCC, which he said affirmed the commission’s power to impose a Post-No-Debit restriction for up to 72 hours before obtaining a court order.

 

“In this instance, the EFCC went to court, and the Federal High Court intervened based on information provided by the EFCC,” Falana said.

 

The development has generated further controversy following a certified copy of a Federal High Court order reportedly obtained by the EFCC, authorising the restriction of three accounts belonging to the Osun State Government.

 

President Bola Tinubu subsequently directed the EFCC to return to court and vacate the order, citing concerns over the timing of the restriction ahead of the August 15 governorship election.

 

Asked whether the Osun State Government would continue with its legal action despite the President’s intervention, Adekilekun said the decision rested with his client.

 

“Well, it depends on what my client thinks, which is the Osun State Government. If they give us the go-ahead, but I think and I believe that it should be tried,” he said.