Court stops EFCC from probing Oyo govt accounts

By Adejayan Gbenga

A Federal High Court in Ibadan has restrained the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission from carrying out its proposed investigation into the finances of the Oyo State Government, ruling that the exercise was speculative and unsupported by specific allegations.

The decision was delivered on Wednesday by Justice Nkeonye Maha in suit number FHC/IB/CS/61/2025, filed by the Oyo State Government to challenge the anti-graft agency’s request for extensive financial records.

In the judgment, the court acknowledged that the EFCC has the legal authority to investigate financial crimes but stressed that such powers must be exercised within the limits of the constitution and in line with the principles of fair hearing and due process.

Justice Maha held that the commission’s June 2, 2025 letter requesting details of all state contracts and payments made to contractors from 2021 amounted to a fishing expedition because it was not tied to any identifiable allegation or suspect under investigation.

The Oyo State Government approached the court after asking the EFCC to specify the contractors, companies or transactions it intended to investigate. According to the government, the commission failed to provide the requested clarification before legal action was instituted.

The plaintiffs, comprising the governor of Oyo State, the attorney general and the accountant general of the state, argued that the request was overly broad, oppressive and unreasonable, insisting that investigative agencies cannot demand sweeping records without establishing the basis for such inquiries.

Counsel to the EFCC, I.G. Ojibor, who led S. Adamu, argued that Section 38 of the EFCC Act empowers the commission to demand information from any individual, organisation or government authority where necessary for investigations, maintaining that the agency acted within its statutory powers.

Justice Maha, however, ruled in favour of the Oyo State Government, set aside the EFCC’s June 2, 2025 letter and declared that future requests for information must be linked to specific allegations or offences under the EFCC Act, rather than broad or speculative investigations.