diff --git a/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi/ibmvfc.c b/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi/ibmvfc.c
index a06b24a61622..34612add3829 100644
--- a/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi/ibmvfc.c
+++ b/drivers/scsi/ibmvscsi/ibmvfc.c
@@ -4876,8 +4876,8 @@ static int ibmvfc_remove(struct vio_dev *vdev)
 
 	spin_lock_irqsave(vhost->host->host_lock, flags);
 	ibmvfc_purge_requests(vhost, DID_ERROR);
-	ibmvfc_free_event_pool(vhost);
 	spin_unlock_irqrestore(vhost->host->host_lock, flags);
+	ibmvfc_free_event_pool(vhost);
 
 	ibmvfc_free_mem(vhost);
 	spin_lock(&ibmvfc_driver_lock);