NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN
The Nigerian Bar Association has said that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, lacks the constitutional power to impose a blanket restriction on a state’s finances without due legal process.
It condemned the anti graft agency over the freezing of Osun State Government bank accounts.
In an interview with The Punch on Wednesday,, NBA president, Afam Osigwe (SAN), warned that any directive restricting withdrawals from accounts belonging to a state government would effectively cripple governance and amount to an abuse of power.
His comments followed the EFCC’s directive to First Bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on Osun State’s statutory allocation account as part of an ongoing investigation, a move that has generated legal and political controversy ahead of the August 15 governorship election in the state.
Osigwe acknowledged that the EFCC could seek court orders against specific accounts suspected to be linked to fraud but insisted that the commission could not lawfully freeze all accounts belonging to a state government.
He said, “No government agency or any person has the right or the power to restrict withdrawals from the account of any state because, first of all, the order has the effect of grounding the activities of a government. If the EFCC knows that any particular account is being used for the purpose of fraud, it may be able to obtain a court order, but it cannot make a blanket order freezing the accounts of any state.”
The senior advocate added, “Such an order would be unconstitutional and also violate the powers of the EFCC and may actually amount to an abuse of power. We should not have such a situation.”
He maintained that any decision to freeze the account of an individual or government institution must be supported by sufficient legal grounds and a valid court order.
According to him, “If there is a need to freeze the account of person or government, there is a need to provide a proper basis for it and get a proper order.”
Although he said he was unaware whether the EFCC had indeed issued such a directive, Osigwe advised banks not to comply with any instruction seeking to halt transactions across all state government accounts.
He stated, “I don’t think it would be proper if indeed the EFCC made such an order. I’m not aware of it, but if they made such an order, I would advise that no bank should obey such an order.”
He further urged the anti-graft agency to avoid actions capable of creating the impression that it intended to financially cripple a state government.
The commission had on Wednesday directed that no money be withdrawn from the Osun State Government’s statutory allocation account as part of an ongoing investigation.
In a letter dated August 5, 2026, and signed by the Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Adenike Babalola, for the Director of Investigation, the commission instructed the bank to place a post-no-debit restriction on the account pending the conclusion of the probe.
It also said in a statement on Wednesday night, that the action followed suspicious movement of funds amid an ongoing investigation into alleged fraudulent handling of about N11billion in Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee allocations.
