Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has the legal authority to freeze the accounts of federal, state and local governments, provided it follows the required legal procedure.
Falana made the clarification while commenting on the controversy surrounding the EFCC’s decision to restrict access to the Osun State Government’s account.
According to the legal practitioner, the EFCC can initially place a Post-No-Debit restriction on a government account for up to 72 hours before obtaining a court order to sustain the restriction.
He cited the 2022 Court of Appeal judgment in the case involving the Attorney-General of Benue State and the EFCC, noting that the appellate court affirmed the commission’s authority to freeze a state government account, subject to obtaining judicial approval within the stipulated period.
Falana recalled that the Federal High Court in Benue State had ruled in 2019 that the EFCC lacked the power to freeze the state’s account and subsequently awarded N50 million in damages against the commission. However, the EFCC appealed the decision, leading to the 2022 Court of Appeal ruling.
He further referenced a 2024 Supreme Court judgment involving the Kogi State Government and other states, which, according to him, affirmed the authority of relevant federal agencies to investigate the financial activities and accounts of federal, state and local governments.
Falana maintained that the EFCC’s action in the Osun case was not illegal, stressing that the commission had obtained a court order after initially restricting access to the account.
He added that the Osun State Government had the right to challenge the validity and legality of the order in court.
The lawyer explained that the controversy should therefore focus on the legality of the court order rather than the EFCC’s power to investigate or temporarily restrict government accounts.
He said the existing legal position remains that the EFCC can freeze a government account, but must approach the court within the required 72-hour period to obtain further judicial authorisation.
