ADC to Tinubu: Which Court order did you direct EFCC to vacate on Osun account?

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has welcomed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive reversing the freezing of the Osun State Government’s accounts, but questioned the President’s claim that the EFCC acted based on a court order.

In a statement issued on Thursday and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the President was either “misinformed or deliberately misrepresenting the situation.”

The party also argued that the President’s admission that he ordered the EFCC to discontinue the action undermined claims of the agency’s independence and confirmed that the Presidency directed the operational conduct of anti-graft agencies.

According to the ADC, the President’s repeated reference to an “alleged court order” authorising the freezing of Osun’s accounts is a “remarkable new twist.”

“In all of its public statements on this matter, the EFCC never once claimed that it had obtained a court order. The Commission consistently defended its actions on the basis of its statutory powers and what it described as its ‘preventive mandate,'” the party said.

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“At no point did it inform Nigerians that a court had authorised its actions.”

The ADC asked: “If such an order exists, why was it never mentioned by the EFCC in its statement while defending one of the most controversial actions it has taken in recent times? Why was it not mentioned by the EFCC spokesperson when he appeared on Arise Television on Thursday morning?”

The party said: “Either the President was misinformed or he chose to misrepresent the facts. Either possibility is deeply disturbing.”

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The ADC noted that while the President insists he does not interfere in the activities of anti-corruption agencies, his directive to the EFCC to “approach the court, vacate the alleged order, and discontinue its case” proves otherwise.

“If the President possesses the authority to direct the EFCC to withdraw from court proceedings because the political consequences may affect an election, then it follows that he possesses the authority to direct the Commission in other operational matters as well,” the statement said.

“Rather than demonstrating institutional independence, it confirms that the Presidency could whimsically intervene or issue directives based on political considerations.”

The party described the reversal as a response to “overwhelming condemnation from Nigerians, civil society, political parties, and the wider public,” rather than a voluntary act of restraint.

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“The truth is that it was not a sudden concern for democratic integrity that produced this dramatic reversal. It was the overwhelming condemnation… by Nigerians who recognised the account freezing for what it was: an extraordinary abuse of state power meant to influence the outcome of the governorship election,” the ADC stated.

The ADC also described it as “curious and unusual” that the President issued a personal statement signed by himself instead of communicating through official government channels.

“If all that the President wanted to achieve was to get the EFCC to reverse itself, why did he not simply tell the Commission to do so instead of issuing a press statement signed by the President himself? This solo performance by the President actually exposes more than it was intended to conceal,” the party said.

The ADC urged the President to apply the same intervention to other cases, asking him to “consider directing the ICPC and its counsel to stop opposing the bail application of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.”