The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, through its Director of Public Affairs, Wilson Uwujaren, on Thursday, 6 August, 2026 disclosed that at least 18 states are currently under investigation over allegations bordering on the mismanagement of public funds, reports thegazellenews.com.
Uwujaren, made the disclosure while speaking during an interview on Arise Television on Thursday, 6 August, 2026. He however, declined to name the states involved.
Responding to questions on the commission’s decision to restrict an Osun State Government account, Uwujaren said it was one of several similar actions the EFCC had taken or was preparing to take against state governments.
Asked directly whether other states were being investigated, the agency’s director of public affairs confirmed that the number ran into double digits.
“Like we said in the statement, there are about 18 other states that we have ongoing investigations,” he said.
Pressed to name the states, he declined.
According to Uwujaren, the commission’s action against Osun State was not an isolated case, noting that a similar restriction had previously been placed on an Edo State Government account before the emergence of Governor Monday Okpebholo.
“Before, during the Edo State election, before the coming of Governor Okpebholo, EFCC also took actions to restrict the account of that state government when we saw that funds were being moved to suspicious accounts.
“And we were able to preserve N12 billion for them. That is why the current government was able to come on board and have resources to work,” he said.
He said the commission’s interventions were guided by law and not directed at any particular administration.
“So this is not targeted at any particular government. We are simply doing our work under the law,” he said.
Asked why the commission had not taken similar action during the Ekiti State election, Uwujaren said the circumstances were different, citing intelligence that only the commission had access to.
“If you talk about what happened in Ekiti, we didn’t have any reason to intervene the way we are intervening now. And you don’t have access to the information that we have access to,” he said.
On the scope of the Osun State restriction, Uwujaren reiterated that only one statutory account had been affected, with the state government retaining access to its other 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, just as he also added that the commission had a 72-hour window within which to obtain a court order to sustain the restriction or lift it, adding that the window had not lapsed.
“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.
