'Why didn't you freeze Ekiti's account?' — Isaac Fayose tackles EFCC over Osun account freeze (see video)

• Isaac Fayose accused the EFCC of selectively freezing Osun State's account while allegedly ignoring similar issues during the Ekiti governorship election.

• The EFCC says it froze the account after detecting suspicious fund movements during an investigation into an alleged ₦11 billion fraud.

• Governor Ademola Adeleke insists the action is illegal because it was done without a court order and has gone to court to challenge it.

• NBA President Afam Osigwe warned that freezing a state's account without due process could paralyse governance and amount to an abuse of power.

The decision by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to freeze the Osun State Government's account has sparked fresh controversy, with social commentator Isaac Fayose accusing the agency of playing politics instead of fighting corruption.

Fayose, the younger brother of former Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose, reacted in a video shared on his verified Facebook page on Wednesday, where he questioned why the EFCC moved against Osun but allegedly failed to take similar action against the Ekiti State Government during the June governorship election.

The anti-graft agency had earlier placed a "Post No Debit" restriction on Osun State's statutory allocation account with First Bank, preventing any withdrawals while it continues its investigation into the state's finances.

Reacting to the development, Fayose said innocent residents would be the ones to suffer.

"How can you freeze a whole state account, putting about four million people into nonsense?" he asked. "Why didn't you freeze Ekiti's account in June? Why did you allow Ekiti to buy votes?"

He accused the EFCC of applying different standards depending on which political party controls a state, claiming governments aligned with the Federal Government were treated differently while Osun was being targeted just days before its governorship election scheduled for August 15.

Fayose also linked the controversy to the 2027 general election, alleging that some political actors were already laying the groundwork to influence future elections.

"These people will come back if you keep quiet," he said. "The more you keep quiet, the more they do it."

He further called on Nigerians to demand the resignation of both the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the EFCC leadership if they wanted to see changes in how elections and investigations are handled.

READ ALSO: EFCC says Osun Bank accounts were frozen to prevent fraudulent transfer of federal allocations

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke also condemned the freezing of the state's account, describing it as illegal.

According to the governor, the EFCC carried out the action without first obtaining a court order, which he argued is required under Nigerian law before a government account can be frozen.

Adeleke said he had instructed the state's Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, to challenge the action at the Federal High Court in Osogbo.

Jimi-Bada maintained that although the EFCC has the legal power to investigate government accounts, it cannot freeze them without judicial approval.

READ ALSO: Davido urges calm ahead of Osun governorship election, calls for credible poll

In its response, the EFCC said the investigation into Osun State did not begin this week.

The commission explained in a statement posted on its official X account that it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over the alleged fraudulent handling of about ₦11 billion in ecology funds, intervention funds and FAAC-related allocations.

According to the agency, the investigation alone was not enough to justify freezing the account. However, it claimed investigators detected suspicious movements of funds from the state's accounts starting from August 2, prompting the restriction.

Meanwhile, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Afam Osigwe warned that blocking a state government's access to its funds could cripple governance, arguing that such a move should not be taken without following due legal process.

The controversy comes just over a week before the August 15 Osun governorship election, where Governor Adeleke is seeking another term under the Accord Party.