President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s intervention in the freezing of Osun State Government accounts may have removed an immediate threat to the functioning of the state days before its governorship election, but legal experts say the manner of the intervention raises a more fundamental question about the independence of Nigeria’s anti-corruption institutions.
Tinubu directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to return to court and vacate an order freezing Osun State Government accounts, arguing that the timing of the action could create the impression that a federal institution was being used to interfere in the governorship election.
The President said he was not challenging the EFCC’s anti-corruption mandate. Instead, he described the timing of the commission’s action as inappropriate, particularly with Osun approaching an election.
On one level, lawyers acknowledge the legitimacy of that concern. On another, they argue that allowing a President to determine when the EFCC should pursue or discontinue an enforcement action could create an equally serious problem for Nigeria’s democratic institutions.
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Lawyers Question Presidential Power Over EFCC
Senior Advocate of Nigeria Yomi Alliyu argued that the EFCC is a statutory institution and should not be subject to operational instructions from the President.
His position is that disputes over the commission’s enforcement actions should ultimately be determined through judicial review rather than executive intervention. If the EFCC obtained a valid court order restricting an account, the affected party should ordinarily approach the court to challenge or set aside that order.
This distinction is important.
The question is no longer simply whether the Osun accounts should have been frozen. It is also whether the President should possess the practical authority to determine when an independent anti-corruption agency abandons an enforcement action.
Allowing such intervention, critics argue, could establish a precedent extending far beyond Osun. Future presidents could potentially invoke similar reasoning when an EFCC investigation or enforcement action becomes politically inconvenient.
Timing of EFCC Action Also Raises Serious Questions
Criticism of Tinubu’s intervention does not necessarily mean experts consider the EFCC’s original action beyond scrutiny. Human rights lawyer Festus Ogun raised concerns about the timing of the restriction, coming only days before the governorship election.
Anti-corruption agencies have legitimate powers to investigate financial crimes and seek restrictions on accounts where the necessary legal conditions are satisfied. But Ogun argues that those powers must be exercised carefully, proportionately and in accordance with the law. The proximity of a major election inevitably increases the political consequences of an enforcement action involving the government of the state conducting that election.
