‘Suspense’ Continues As Supreme Court Reserves Judgment In Suit Seeking To Have Withheld Funds Released To Feb 22 Osun LG Officials

Judgment has been reserved at the Supreme Court, Abuja in respect of the suit seeking to urge the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr Lateef Fagbemi to release withheld local government allocations to the local government officials elected in Osun State on February 22, 2025.

Team@orientactualmags.com learned that the 7-member panel headed by Justice Uwani Aba’aji reserved judgment after hearing arguments from the Attorney General of Osun State, who was represented by Musbau Adetumbi (SAN), and the Attorney General of the Federation’s counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), in the suit with docket number SC/CV/773/2025.

‘Date for judgment in the suit will be communicated to parties’ Justice Uwani Aba’aji submitted on Tuesday.

Recall that Osun State government had in the suit that has the AGF as the sole defendant, sought ten reliefs.

‘A DECLARATION that the Defendant is constitutionally obligated to enforce, abide by, comply with and/or give effect to the decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, particularly the decisions of the Federal High Court delivered on 30th November, 2022 in Suit No FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 and that of the Court of Appeal delivered on 13th June, 2025 in Appeal No CA/AK/15/2025 which, inter alia, affirmed the existence of democratically elected Local Government Councils in the Plaintiff State sequel to the election conducted in the State on 22nd February, 2025.

A DECLARATION that the Defendant cannot act arbitrarily and contrary to the subsisting and binding decisions of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, particularly the decisions delivered on the 30th day of November, 2022 in Suit No FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 and 13th day of June, 2025 in Appeal No CA/AK/15/2025, respectively, by unlawfully and unilaterally bequeathing the statutory allocations accruing to the benefit of the 30 Local Government Councils of the Plaintiff State to its own choice candidates, in total contravention of the extant decisions of the courts aforementioned.

A DECLARATION that the Defendant cannot constitute himself into a Court of Law to overturn, set aside, upturn, review, and/or proffer any advice, directive or opinion that contravenes the clear decisions of the Federal High Court in Suit No FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 and the Court of Appeal in Appeal No CA/AK/15/2025 delivered on 30th November, 2022 and 13th June, 2025, respectively’.

Osun State government also sought a declaration that the defendant has no right to withhold, suspend and/or seize the monthly allocations, revenues and/or other funds standing to the credit of the constituent local government councils of the Plaintiff State without any lawful justification, particularly having regard to the fact that the Plaintiff State already had in place democratically elected local government councils at all material times to this suit.

The apex court was also asked to declare that the acts of the Defendant in withholding the monthly allocation and revenues due to the constituent local government councils of the Plaintiff State since March 2025 till date, without any lawful justification, notwithstanding the fact that the Plaintiff already had in place democratically elected local government councils, are unconstitutional, unlawful, wrongful and ultra vires the powers of the Defendant.

The plaintiff also asked the apex Court to declare that the seizure, suspension, withholding and/or refusal to pay the allocations and revenues due to the constituent local government councils of the Plaintiff State by the Defendant is a clear threat to the existence and subsistence of the democratically elected local government councils which are already in place in the Plaintiff State.

‘AN ORDER restraining the Defendant from paying and/or causing to be paid the statutory allocations standing to the credit of the 30 Local Governments in the Plaintiff State to the sacked All Progressive Congress (APC) Local Government Chairmen and Councillors pursuant to the nullified Local Government Election of 15th October, 2022, whose election and subsistence in office had been annulled by valid, extant, unchallenged and subsisting decisions of the Federal High Court in Suit No FHC/OS/CS/103/2022 and that of the Court of Appeal in Appeal No CA/AK/15/2025 delivered on 30th November, 2022 and 13th June, 2025, respectively.

AN ORDER directing the Defendant to, forthwith, release the monthly allocations and revenues due to and standing to the credit of the constituent Local Government Councils of Osun State for all the months they have been unlawfully and unjustifiably withheld by the Defendant, and pay same directly into the Local Government allocation accounts to be opened in favour of the validly elected Local Government Council officials elected pursuant to the election conducted in the Plaintiff State on 22nd February, 2025 and sworn in on 23rd February, 2025.

AN ORDER directing the Defendant to, forthwith, pay the allocation, revenues and other funds accruing and due to the Local Government Councils of the Plaintiff State to the validly elected Local Government Council officials elected pursuant to the election conducted in the Plaintiff State on 22nd February, 2025 and sworn in on 23rd February, 2025’.

That was not all, counsel for Osun State, Adetumbi had also prayed the Court to issue an ORDER OF PERPETUAL INJUNCTION restraining the Defendant from further withholding, suspending and/or seizing the monthly allocations, revenues and/or funds standing to the credit of the constituent Local Government Councils of the Plaintiff State for as long as the Plaintiff State has in place democratically elected Local Government Councils in its State.

AGF’s counsel, Olujimi,  however urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit that he described as an abuse of court process and contempt.

The jurisdiction of the Supreme Court was not according to him properly invoked while adding that the suit originated from a political matter that is before no fewer than seven lower courts in the country.

‘My Lord the objections stand on six grounds. In the first ground we urge your Lordships not to accord the plaintiff hearing because he has committed contempt of this court. We also took a point sir, that the dispute brought before your Lordships is in fact pending before several High Courts. The dispute over elected Local Government officials is before Federal High Courts and the State High Courts. Seven of them. We are saying this is a dispute between APC and PDP over who should be in office. The APC elected council for a three-year term their tenure is still running and will come to an end on October 22nd but from the very beginning they have made it difficult to make these men run their administration. Saying don’t pay money to the council.

The suit has not disclosed any cause of action. Ground four – no locus and the suit is an abuse of court process.

I humbly adopt the arguments in support of the Preliminary Objections and also the reply in points of law in support and urge your Lordships to uphold the preliminary objections and dismiss this suit. If your Lordships agree with me that the suit is an abuse of process, the remedy is dismissal. We have a written address in support of the counter affidavit. I humbly adopt these processes and urge my Lords to dismiss this suit. I urge your Lordships to dismiss this suit for lack of merit’ he said-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079,  08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you