A legal lawsuit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been threatened by the administration of Kogi State (EFCC).

Kingsley Fanwo, the state’s commissioner for information and communication, gave the warning on Thursday while addressing the media at the Kogi Liaison Office in Abuja.

According to him, the EFCC is making a concerted effort to tarnish the reputation of the Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, over a purported N20 billion salary bailout fund that is allegedly held in a fixed deposit at a commercial bank.

The commissioner termed as false and malicious the assertions made by the anti-graft agency that the governor did not disperse the bailout money given by the Federal Government in 2019 for the settlement of salary debts owned by the civil servants in the state.

Instead, he told the reporters during the interview that the Yahaya Bello administration had already disbursed the cash since October of 2019.

Fanwood’s statement comes only two days after the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court passed an order suspending the Kogi State Salary Bailout Account, which is housed in Sterling Bank, over an N20 billion loan acquired from the bank.

A ruling by the presiding judge, Justice Tijjani Ringim, declared the order to be in effect until an investigation or probable prosecution by the EFCC was completed and completed.

The anti-graft agency had claimed in its argument that the loan was intended to supplement the payment of salaries and operating expenses of the state.

The state administration, on the other hand, was said to have held the money in an interest-bearing account with Sterling Bank.

Also said by the EFCC was that as of April 1, 2021, there was a balance of N19,333,333,333.36 to the credit of the aforementioned fixed deposit account.

It went on to say that it was still investigating what the sum of N666,666,666.64, which was a shortfall of the total amount, was utilized for.