By Eshioromeh Sebastian
A fresh petition has landed on the desk of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), asking the anti-graft agency to dig into how Oyo State managed its loans, bonds and budgets between 2019 and 2026, with the N30 billion federal relief for Bodija explosion victims sitting at the centre of the case.
The petition was filed on October 20, 2026, by solicitors acting for one Mr Akinloye Olusegun, and it wants a forensic audit of the state’s books to establish whether money meant for infrastructure, healthcare and other public projects was properly spent or quietly diverted.
For Governor Seyi Makinde, the development is the latest turn in a controversy that has trailed him since December 2025, when former Ekiti governor Ayodele Fayose went on national television and alleged that the state was sitting on the N30 billion without telling anyone.
Fayose did not stop at the disclosure. He demanded that Makinde return the money to the Federal Government with interest, calculating that eighteen months in the bank should have yielded at least N4.5 billion, and that the state should hand back nothing less than N34.5 billion.
The state’s response was to confirm the fund existed. It said the Federal Government had promised N50 billion but released only N30 billion, and that the balance was withheld after Makinde refused to play ball with certain demands. It also insisted it had spent N24.6 billion of its own money on the aftermath of the blast, including N4.085 billion handed directly to victims.
That explanation did not quiet the matter. In January 2026, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) petitioned the EFCC, alleging diversion, misapplication and criminal breach of trust, and pointing out that only about N4.5 billion appeared to have reached victims while the rest sat in a commercial bank earning interest.
The explosion that started it all occurred on January 16, 2024, in Bodija, Ibadan. According to the petition, two people died and 77 were injured. The Federal Government approved N50 billion for reconstruction, and N30 billion of that was released through the Central Bank of Nigeria on November 4, 2024.
The solicitors allege that the state government itself confirmed the N30 billion was lodged in its Infrastructure Support Account with First Bank of Nigeria Plc, and that the money had not moved as of December 31, 2025.
They want to know why victims have still not seen the reconstruction that the fund was meant to finance, more than a year after the money left Abuja. They also want the state to explain the N24.6 billion it claims to have spent from its own purse.
The petition cites a public statement by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, acknowledging that the N30 billion was in account number 2045199879 with First Bank.
The lawyers are asking the EFCC to confirm the balance, trace the movement of the funds and audit the state’s spending claims. They want First Bank to release the account statement and transaction history from November 4, 2024, to date, and they want the CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance to confirm the approval and disbursement trail.
The petition was brought under Sections 6 and 7 of the EFCC Act, 2004, and Section 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
Bodija is only one part of what the petitioners want examined. They are also asking the EFCC to look into a string of loans and bonds the state reportedly took between 2019 and 2025.
Among them are a N10 billion infrastructure loan in 2019, a N7.6 billion CBN agricultural loan for the Akufo/Eruwa Farm Settlement, a N2.5 billion health loan and a N20 billion facility in 2020.
The petition also lists a N100 billion Prosperity Bond issued in 2021/2022, said to be tied to the Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road, the Ibadan Circular Road, the Ibadan Airport upgrade and the Ibadan Dry Port/Rail Corridor. There is also a N50 billion CBN Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement facility captured in a 2021 supplementary budget, split into N25 billion for the Circular Road, N15 billion for the Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road and N10 billion for the airport.
The lawyers further question a N200 billion bond approved in June 2025 to refinance existing bank facilities carrying interest rates of between 22 and 26 per cent down to 17 to 19 per cent, with an issuance fee of 2.35 per cent.
Another item is a 55 million euro French concessional loan, estimated at about N85 billion, reportedly obtained in 2025 to rehabilitate health facilities, with repayment scheduled to begin under the next administration.
The EFCC is being asked to verify how these facilities were disbursed and utilised, check compliance with the Debt Management Office’s requirements and determine whether the projects delivered value for money.
The petition also turns to the state’s annual budgets and supplementary appropriations from 2019 to 2026.
It lists the 2019 budget at N182 billion, 2020 at N208.8 billion and 2021 at N318.77 billion, including a N50 billion supplementary appropriation. The 2022 budget was N294.7 billion, 2023 was N352.28 billion and 2024 was N517.78 billion.
For 2025, the petition puts the combined budget at about N984 billion, made up of N684.1 billion and a supplementary allocation of N299.8 billion. The 2026 budget is put at roughly N1.102 trillion, comprising an initial N892.085 billion and an additional N330 billion, including a N120 billion realignment and a N210 billion supplementary budget.
The 2026 supplementary appropriation, according to the petition, covered the Ibadan Circular Road, Ido-Eruwa Road, Airport-Ajia-New Ife Road, Saki-Igboho Road and Apete-Awotan-Akufo Road, as well as the Ladoke Akintola Airport, Government House, debt servicing, gratuity payments and local government elections.
The solicitors want the commission to match the appropriations against actual releases, expenditure records and project implementation.
The Prayers
The petition asks the EFCC to conduct a forensic audit of the loans, bonds, budgets and supplementary budgets listed.
It also wants the commission to investigate the N24.6 billion Bodija expenditure and determine whether any financial crime, criminal breach of trust, project cost inflation or violation of public procurement laws occurred.
The solicitors said their client is willing to adopt the petition under oath and to supply supporting documents.
The Oyo State Government has consistently described the controversy as political, tying it to Makinde’s refusal to back President Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. The Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, said the government was at peace with its position and ready for the politics of 2026.
The allegations in the petition have not been independently established.
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