An Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan has again shifted its ruling on the applications filed by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and other defendants in a suit instituted by the Attorney General of Osun State and another claimant.
The ruling, earlier expected on Friday, has now been moved to next Tuesday.
Before the court are several applications, including one by UBA requesting an adjournment sine die (indefinitely) and another challenging the court’s jurisdiction, filed by counsel representing the sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) Local Government Chairmen, Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN.
Other interested parties, including the sacked APC chairmen and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have also filed to be joined in the matter.
Justice Ladiran Akintola of Court 5 had on Thursday scheduled Friday for hearing the case.
UBA, in its motion, maintained that the local government funds in dispute remain in its custody and untouched by any party.
After consulting with all counsels, Justice Akintola announced that the ruling had been deferred to allow the court enough time to deliver a well-considered decision on the pending applications.
The judge further extended the interim injunction against UBA Plc till Tuesday, October 14, maintaining a no-debit order on 30 bank accounts where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had deposited the withheld Osun State Local Government allocations.
During proceedings, UBA’s counsel, Mutalib Ojo, SAN, reiterated his plea for the matter to be adjourned indefinitely pending the Supreme Court’s decision on a related case already argued before it.
He cautioned that a ruling by the High Court could clash with the apex court’s final judgment.
“If this High Court proceeds to hear the suit, there is a 50-50 chance that whatever decision it makes may conflict with the outcome of the Supreme Court. The issue here concerns the hierarchy of courts. Proceeding further may amount to a waste of judicial time since the Supreme Court’s decision will ultimately prevail,” Ojo said.
He urged the court to grant his request for an indefinite adjournment, stressing that the funds remain safely held by UBA and untouched.
Counsel to the sacked APC chairmen, Gbadamosi, SAN, opposed the application, insisting that the issue of jurisdiction must first be determined. He described UBA’s request as “an anomaly” that should not be entertained.
“From the defendants’ originating summons, it is clear that there is a pending suit before the Supreme Court upon which this current case and its reliefs are predicated. This present suit was filed subsequently after the Supreme Court case was instituted. That in itself constitutes an abuse of court process which this court must not condone,” he argued.
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Responding, counsel to the plaintiffs, Musibau Adetunmbi, SAN, countered the objection, explaining that his clients only approached the High Court after discovering that federal agencies, including the CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation, had transferred the disputed funds to UBA despite the pending case at the Supreme Court.
“If the money had not been moved from the CBN, we would not have come before this court. The Supreme Court does not have original jurisdiction over UBA, but this High Court does, hence our action,” Adetunmbi said.
After listening to extensive arguments from all parties, Justice Akintola retired briefly to his chambers and later adjourned the case till Tuesday, October 14, 2025, for ruling.
On October 7, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, led by Justice Uwani Aba’aji, reserved judgment in a related suit filed to compel the Attorney General of the Federation to release Osun State’s withheld local government funds.
The suit, numbered SC/CV/773/2025, was argued by Osun State’s Attorney General, represented by Musibau Adetunmbi, SAN, and counsel to the Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN.
Justice Uwani Aba’aji said, “Date for judgment in the suit will be communicated to parties.”