Supreme Court To Decide On Osun Local Government Funds Tussle On Tuesday

The Supreme Court will on October 7, 2025, hear a crucial case over the disputed Osun State local government funds, a matter that has triggered multiple court battles and orders freezing council allocations.

Speaking with reporters after the sitting, counsel to the Attorney-General of Osun State, Musibau Adetunmbi, SAN, disclosed: “The crux of the matter is to safeguard the money in issue pending the Supreme Court’s determination on Tuesday, 7 October 2025.

“Our contention is that even those who paid the money knew the matter was already before the court. They should have respected the Supreme Court by holding on to the money. Let the Supreme Court speak, everybody will be happy, but for you to pay just like that is not acceptable.”

Ahead of the hearing, the Oyo State High Court sitting in Ibadan on Friday extended its Order of Interim Injunction against the United Bank for Africa (UBA), maintaining a no-debit restriction on 30 bank accounts into which withheld Osun local government allocations were paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Justice Ladiran Akintola, in his ruling, explained that the extension was necessary to allow all parties in the suit No. 1/1149/2025: the Attorney-General of Osun State, the Osun State Local Government Service Commission, and United Bank for Africa Plc to enjoy fair hearing.

While counsel to the UBA Plc was absent, counsel to the court-sacked APC council chairmen, led by Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN, holding brief for Kunle Adegoke, SAN, attended proceedings after filing fresh applications for joinder and jurisdictional challenge.

But the counsel to the plaintiffs, Adetunmbi, maintained that the ex-APC council chairmen lacked the locus standi, insisting: “The ex-LG chairmen remained strangers to the case since their application for joinder had not yet been decided upon by the court.”

He further explained: “I received the two applications yesterday (Thursday) and today (Friday). I will need time to study them as well as reply on points of law.”

However, Gbadamosi countered, saying his clients were directly affected by the court’s Interim Injunction of 26 September 2025, and argued: “The court has no power in respect of a case in which its jurisdiction is being challenged to extend the order of life span that had expired.”

The court also admitted a further affidavit from Mrs. Aluko Rachael Abidemi, Head of Local Government Administration in Boluwaduro LGA, who alleged attempts by certain individuals to siphon funds despite a subsisting court order.

She revealed that two men, claiming to be chairman and treasurer, had instructed UBA to deduct 15% of allocations and remit to a private law firm, even though one of them “was neither a staff of Boluwaduro Local Government nor its Treasurer.”

On the interim preservation order, Adetunmbi added: “As I earlier informed the court, there is a letter directing that 15% of the withheld funds from March to September — running into billions of naira — should be paid as legal fees to one individual. In what manner? By what procedure? Without this preservation order, the rest of the money would have been gone by now.”

On the joinder application, the Attorney-General stressed: “We are going to oppose the joinder because nothing concerns them with this case.”

There has been contention over the withholding of the local government allocations in Osun State with the state citing bias and illegality on the side of the Nigerian government. (SaharaReporters)