The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has defended its decision to place a restriction on an Osun State Government bank account without first obtaining a court order, insisting that its action was backed by provisions of the EFCC Act and the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
The commission’s defence comes amid growing criticisms of EFCC’s action which came less than two weeks before the governorship election.
Some lawyers, including the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, have argued that the EFCC lacked the power to order bank to restrict access to a government’s accounts, and if it must do so, it must be backed by a court order.
Rejecting the account restriction, the Osun State Government, has also read political motivation into the EFCC’s action.
With the state’s 15 August governorship election in which Governor Ademola Adeleke is participating as a candidate just nine days away, the state government described the account freezing as unlawful and politically motivated.
