Senior lawyer Femi Falana has defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s action over the freezing of Osun State government accounts, saying the anti-corruption agency has not acted illegally. He also cautioned against calls for investigations to be suspended simply because elections are approaching.
FILES: Femi Falana, SAN
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has defended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), saying the anti-graft agency acted within its legal powers by freezing the Osun State Government’s account.
Falana, who appeared on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said the commission did not act unlawfully, stressing that the President himself acknowledged the legality of the EFCC’s action while expressing concerns only about its timing.
“As far as the law is concerned, the EFCC has not acted illegally. As a matter of fact, that came out in the statement of the President, that whereas, ‘I’m not questioning your mandate and the exercise of your powers; however, I’m embarrassed,’” Falana said.
According to him, the EFCC is empowered by law to freeze the accounts of the Federal Government, state governments or local governments where necessary, provided it approaches the court “in not more than 72 hours”.
“Under the law, the EFCC has the power to freeze the account of the Federal Government or of any state or local government in Nigeria and, in not more than 72 hours, has to go to court,” he added.
EFCC HQ
The senior lawyer also warned against suggesting that anti-corruption agencies should suspend investigations because elections are approaching.
“We must be very careful that we don’t give the dangerous impression that when elections are 10, 20 or 30 days away, the anti-graft agency must turn the other eye. If funds are being moved to the tune of billions of naira, it cannot ignore such transactions simply because elections are coming,” he said.
On President Bola Tinubu’s intervention, Falana said the issue of timing could have been handled administratively through the Attorney-General of the Federation.
“The embarrassment alluded to by the President would have been handled by the Attorney-General of the Federation. The President would have advised the Attorney-General, ‘I am disturbed by the development in Osun State; please take over the case,” the SAN suggested.
The controversy began on Wednesday when Governor Ademola Adeleke accused the EFCC of freezing one of the state’s accounts and described the action as politically motivated, coming days before the Osun governorship election.
The EFCC, however, said it froze the account after detecting suspicious movement of public funds into several corporate entities, insisting it acted in line with its statutory duty to protect public resources.
On Thursday, President Tinubu directed the commission to immediately approach the court to vacate the freezing order, saying although the EFCC acted within its mandate, the timing of the action was “inauspicious” and could create the impression of federal interference in the forthcoming governorship election.
Governor Adeleke has since filed a ₦2 billion suit against the EFCC.
