President Bola Tinubu has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately return to court and vacate the order freezing the accounts of the Osun State Government.
Tinubu, in a statement issued by the State House said he was not opposed to the EFCC’s exercise of its statutory powers but expressed concern over the timing of the action.
The President said since assuming office, he had maintained that anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies should operate independently without interference and had deliberately avoided interfering in the operational activities of the EFCC or other investigative agencies to protect it’s independence.
The EFCC had earlier defended the order it obtained as part of its investigation into alleged financial infractions involving the Osun State Government, insisting that its actions are within the law and that it had the authority to place restrictions on accounts suspected to be linked to financial crimes.
But The state government dismissed the commission’s claims of financial misconduct, denying allegations of misappropriation of N11bn and accusing the EFCC of attempting to justify its action.
The EFCC had insisted that its investigation was not politically motivated and that its mandate was to investigate and prosecute suspected cases of financial crimes.
