Oyo Govt Hails Court Judgment Halting EFCC Probe Into State Finances Under Makinde

The Oyo State Government has welcomed the Federal High Court judgment in Ibadan restraining the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from proceeding with its planned investigation into the state’s finances under Governor Seyi Makinde.

The court, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday by Justice Nkeonye Maha, ruled that the EFCC’s request for extensive financial records from the state government amounted to a speculative “fishing expedition” rather than a lawful investigation based on specific allegations.

The suit, marked FHC/IB/CS/61/2025, was filed by the Oyo State Government after the EFCC wrote to the state Accountant General on June 2, 2025, demanding records of contracts, transactions and payments to contractors from 2021.

Reacting to the judgment, the Special Adviser on Media to Governor Makinde, Sulaimon Olarewaju, said the court affirmed that investigative powers must be exercised within the limits of the Constitution and respect citizens’ right to fair hearing.

“The court noted that the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs to fair hearing could not be trampled upon under the guise of investigation,” Olarewaju said.

The Oyo State Government had argued that while the EFCC has powers to investigate financial crimes, such authority must be based on identifiable allegations and cannot be used to demand broad government records without a clear basis.

Represented by the state Attorney General, Abiodun Aikomo, the government said the EFCC’s request was excessive, unreasonable and oppressive, particularly because it covered several years of government transactions without naming specific contractors or alleged offences.

The court agreed, holding that Section 38 of the EFCC Act, which empowers the commission to obtain information, does not authorise blanket or speculative inquiries into government finances.

Justice Maha consequently set aside the EFCC’s letter, ruling that future requests for information must be reasonable and connected to specific allegations of wrongdoing.

The EFCC had argued that its request was within its statutory powers, insisting that Section 38 of the EFCC Act allowed it to demand documents from public institutions as part of its investigative mandate.

However, the court held that the commission’s powers were not unlimited and must operate within constitutional safeguards.

The judgment comes amid political allegations by opposition figures and some groups over the management of public funds in Oyo State. The Makinde administration has repeatedly denied allegations of financial misconduct, maintaining that it complies with transparency requirements and publishes relevant fiscal documents.