Adeyanju Faults Tinubu’s Order Lifting EFCC Freeze On Osun Accounts, Calls It Unconstitutional

Human rights lawyer Deji Adeyanju has criticized President Bola Tinubu for ordering the EFCC to lift a court-backed freeze on Osun State government accounts. Adeyanju argues that while the EFCC has the legal authority to act, the President's intervention undermines the independence of anti-graft institutions.
Why it matters
The debate highlights tensions between executive power and the independence of judicial and anti-corruption agencies in Nigeria.
According to him, the controversy surrounding the account freeze should not obscure the legal question of whether the anti-graft agency possessed the statutory authority to act.
Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has faulted President Bola Tinubu's directive ordering the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to vacate the court-backed freezing of Osun State Government accounts, describing the President's intervention as unconstitutional and a dangerous assault on the independence of public institutions.
Speaking on the Mic On podcast, anchored and hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, Adeyanju argued that while the EFCC acted within the powers granted to it by law in obtaining an ex parte court order to freeze the accounts, the timing of the action, coming days before the Osun State governorship election, was "extremely suspicious" and inevitably created the impression of political interference.
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