The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed that it is currently investigating around 18 state governments for allegedly mismanaging public funds.
During a Thursday interview on Arise Television, the commission’s Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, shared the figure while keeping the identity of the affected states confidential.
Addressing questions about the EFCC freezing an Osun State Government account, Uwujaren explained that the step reflects a broader series of actions already taken or planned against state administrations.
When pressed on whether additional states were involved, Uwujaren confirmed that the overall number has hit double digits.
He said, “Like we said in the statement, there are about 18 other states that we have ongoing investigations.”
Asked to mention the states, he declined. “I don’t want to start mentioning those states by name now,” he said.
Uwujaren clarified that the commission’s action against Osun State was not a one-off event, adding that the EFCC had previously restricted an Edo State Government account before Governor Monday Okpebholo took office.
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Osun State restriction
Regarding the scope of the restriction on Osun State, Uwujaren explained that the commission targeted only a single statutory account, leaving the state government free to access its remaining accounts.
“We only targeted one statutory account, which is restricted, temporary restriction on that account. And it does not stop the government from operating other accounts that they have. It’s only one account that is frozen for now,” he said.
He noted that the law grants the commission a 72-hour window to obtain a court order to either maintain or lift the restriction, a timeline that remains active.
“We have a 72 hours window to obtain a court order, which the commission is at liberty to do.
“We have not exhausted that window, 72 hours, within which we either obtain a court order to continue to freeze it or lift the restriction on the other hand,” he said.
He claimed that the Osun State inquiry was not a recent phenomenon, saying that it began in March and had already resulted in the questioning of several state officials.
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