The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in a legal dispute between the Osun State Government and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) concerning the alleged seizure of local government allocations belonging to the state.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Uwani Aba’aji, reached the decision on Tuesday after hearing arguments from both parties.
Representing Osun State, Musbau Adetumbi (SAN) urged the court to compel the AGF to comply with existing court rulings that recognised the local government chairmen elected on February 22, 2025, as the state’s valid council officials.
In the suit marked SC/CV/773/2025, Osun State argued that the AGF acted unlawfully by withholding and attempting to redirect the state’s local government funds to another group of officials allegedly installed by the All Progressives Congress (APC), contrary to the court’s earlier decisions.
The state’s legal team is asking the Supreme Court to declare the AGF’s actions “unconstitutional, unlawful, and ultra vires”, and to order the immediate release of all withheld allocations directly to the accounts of the duly elected local government councils.
Adetumbi told the court that despite the pending case, the AGF had issued a March 26 directive for the release of the funds to the sacked APC officials.
“My Lords, even while this matter was pending before this court, the defendant attempted to destroy the subject matter by trying to pay the money to one of the contending parties,” he said.
He added that the payment attempt through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was halted after the state secured a court order.
However, counsel to the AGF, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the suit, describing it as an abuse of court process and politically motivated.
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Olujimi maintained that the matter, which he said stemmed from a political rivalry between the APC and PDP over control of local government councils, was already being heard by multiple lower courts.
“We are saying this is a dispute between the APC and PDP over who should be in office. The APC elected council chairmen for a three-year term, and their tenure is still running,” he argued.
He further contended that the Supreme Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, insisting it disclosed no cause of action and that Osun State lacked the locus standi to bring the matter before the apex court.
The court also struck out an earlier related suit, SC/379/2025, filed by Osun State before the AGF’s directive to release the withheld funds.
Justice Aba’aji announced that the panel would reserve its judgment and communicate a date for its delivery later.