By Ikechukwu Nnochiri, Abuja
The Supreme Courtroom, on Tuesday, reserved for judgement a go well with in search of to compel the Federal Authorities to launch all of the allocations belonging to Native Authorities Councils, LGCs, in Osun State, which it seized.
A seven-member panel of the court docket, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, okayed the matter for judgement after each the Legal professional Basic of the Federation and the Legal professional Basic of Osun State, by means of their respective counsel, adopted their briefs of argument.
Whereas a former AGF, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, appeared for FG, the Osun State authorities was represented by Mr Musibau Adetunbi, SAN.
Osun State, within the go well with marked SC/CV/775/2025, sought 10 reliefs from the court docket, amongst which included a declaration that the AGF, who was cited as the only real defendant, is constitutionally obligated to implement and adjust to court docket choices that affirmed the existence of democratically elected LGCs in Osun, followingan election that was performed within the state on February 22, 2025.
The state prayed the court docket to declare that the AGF can’t act arbitrarily and opposite to the subsisting and binding choices of each the Federal Excessive Courtroom and the Courtroom of Enchantment, delivered on November 30, 2022, in Swimsuit No. FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 and on June 13, 2025, in Enchantment No. CA/AK/15/2025, respectively, “by unlawfully and unilaterally bequeathing the statutory allocations accruing to the advantage of the 30 LGCs of the plaintiff to its personal selection candidates, in complete contravention of the extant choices of the courts aforementioned.”
It additional sought a declaration that the AGF had no proper to withhold, droop and/or seize the month-to-month allocations, revenues and/or different funds standing to the credit score of the LGCs with out lawful justification, particularly in view of the truth that the state already had in place democratically elected LGCs.
“An order restraining the defendant from paying and/or inflicting to be paid the statutory allocations standing to the credit score of the 30 native governments within the plaintiff state to the sacked All Progressive Congress (APC) native authorities chairmen and councillors pursuant to the nullified native authorities election of fifteenth October, 2022, whose election and subsistence in workplace had been annulled by legitimate, extant, unchallenged and subsisting choices of the Federal Excessive Courtroom in Swimsuit No. FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 and that of the Courtroom of Enchantment in Enchantment No. CA/AK/15/2025, delivered on thirtieth November, 2022, and thirteenth June, 2025, respectively.”
“An order directing the defendant to forthwith launch the month-to-month allocations and revenues as a result of and standing to the credit score of the constituent Native Authorities Councils of Osun State for all of the months they’ve been unlawfully and unjustifiably withheld by the defendant and pay similar instantly into the Native Authorities allocation accounts to be opened in favour of the validly elected Native Authorities Council officers elected pursuant to the election performed within the plaintiff state on 22 February, 2025 and sworn in on 23 February, 2025.
“An order directing the defendant to forthwith pay the allocation, revenues and different funds accruing and as a result of Native Authorities Councils of the plaintiff state to the validly elected Native Authorities Council officers elected pursuant to the election performed within the plaintiff state on twenty second February, 2025 and sworn in on twenty third February, 2025.
In addition to: “An order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant from additional withholding, suspending and/or seizing the month-to-month allocations, revenues and/or funds standing to the credit score of the constituent Native Authorities Councils of the plaintiff state for so long as the plaintiff state has in place democratically elected Native Authorities Councils in its state.”
Whereas adopting his processes on Tuesday, counsel to the state advised the Supreme Courtroom that the AGF had, in a letter dated March 26, directed that the withheld allocations must be launched to APC chairmen and councillors that have been already sacked from workplace by a court docket judgement.
He stated, “My Lords, even whereas this matter was pending earlier than this court docket, the defendant tried to destroy the res (subject material) by making an attempt to pay the cash to one of many contending events.
“They really paid by means of the Central Financial institution of Nigeria, CBN, however we have been fortunate to get an order that stopped the discharge of the cash,” Osun state’s lawyer, Adetunbi, SAN, added as he urged the court docket to grant all of the reliefs.
Nonetheless, counsel to the AGF, Olujimi, SAN, drew the eye of the court docket to a preliminary objection he filed to problem the competence of the go well with.
Searching for the dismissal of the go well with, the AGF argued that the jurisdiction of the Supreme Courtroom was not correctly invoked, insisting that on the centre of the motion was a competition between the APC and PDP over who ought to occupy LG positions in Osun state.
“The very fact of the case is that the APC LG officers have a three-year time period of workplace that’s nonetheless operating and can expire on October 22.
“Nonetheless, the state has made it not possible for the officers to operate, submitting instances up and right down to frustrate them from performing their duties.
“Our place is that this isn’t a matter for this court docket. This court docket can solely be approached by activating its authentic jurisdiction as offered within the Structure.
“Furthermore, the go well with has not disclosed any explanation for motion. We additionally contend that the plaintiff not solely lacked the locus standi however was additionally concerned in an abuse of the judicial course of,” Olujimi, SAN, added.
After it had listened to either side, the Justice Abba-Aji-led panel stated it could talk the judgement date to all of the events.
Earlier, the court docket struck out one other go well with marked SC/379/2025, which Osun State stated it filed earlier than the AGF gave the directive for the withheld funds to be launched to the APC LG chairmen and councillors.
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