LG Funds: Osun Objects Hearing of Suit against CBN, Accountant General by Abuja Vacation Court

*Accuses AGF of fast tracking funds release to sacked APC chairmen

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The Osun State Government on Monday told a Federal High Court in Abuja that it objects to hearing of the suit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and two others in respect of funds belonging to the 23 Local Government Area Councils in the state.

The state government in the suit filed by its Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, maintained that while the Abuja division of the Federal High Court lacked the necessary jurisdiction to hear the suit initiated at the Osogbo division of the Federal High Court, it was wrong for the suit to be heard by a vacation court, since the matter does not require the urgency to qualify for a vacation matter.

Recall that the Osun State Attorney-General who is the plaintiff in the suit had dragged the CBN, Accountant General of the Federation as well as the Attorney-General of the Federation before the Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State.

The plaintiff in the suit filed by Musibau Adetunji, SAN, is praying the court to restrain the CBN from opening accounts for the chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2022, whom the state government affirmed have been sacked by the same Federal High Court.

However, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, last month issued a fiat transferring the suit from the Osogbo division to the Abuja division, for expeditious hearing.

When the matter up for mention on Monday, plaintiff’s lawyer informed the court of two motions he filed and already served on the defendants.

In the 1st motion which bordered on jurisdiction, the plaintiff seeks the setting aside of the CJ’s fiat contained in a letter dated August 21, and signed by his Personal Assistant, Joshua Ibrahim.

Plaintiff further prays for the setting aside of the directive that the matter be heard by a vacation judge, adding that the court should decline jurisdiction to hear the matter during its annual vacation and return the case file back to the Osogbo judicial division of the Federal High Court.

While disclosing that the second motion before the court was a Notice for the Discontinuance of the case against the AGF, plaintiff’s lawyer explained that the said motion was, “sequel to the Affidavit of Urgency”, the AGF filed on August 13, 2025.

“It became obvious that he is willing and at the verge of paying the allocation of the Constituent Local Government Councils of the plaintiff’s state to the illegal and sacked APC Chairmen and Councilors”, Adetunbi said.

“Consequent on the above, the plaintiff is desirous of initiating and prosecuting a fresh suit against the 3rd defendant (AGF) at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“That, some of the facts, questions and issues to be tabled at the apex court against the AGF would be identical to the facts, questions and issues before the trial court in the instant suit and hence, the need to discontinue the suit against him”, the senior lawyer added.

Meanwhile, the plaintiff has prayed the court for an order staying further proceedings in the suit pending the hearing and determination of the suit numbered SC/CV/773/2025 between the Attorney General of Osun State and the AGF at the Supreme Court.

One of the grounds of the motion is that “the AGF is not willing to obey, abide by or comply with valid and subsisting decision of the Court of Appeal but rather caused an affidavit of urgency to be filed before the court on August 13.”

Adetunbi argued that the AGF’s letter of August 26 and the affidavit of urgency show that he is willing and at the verge of paying the allocation of the Constituents Local Government Councils of the plaintiff state to illegal and sacked APC Chairmen and Councilors.

He added that, “the brazen decision of the AGF necessitated him to approach the Supreme Court to determine the propriety or otherwise of the federation’s action in paying statutory allocation of the Local Government Councils in Osun state to officials of the APC, who have been removed from office by a subsisting judgment of the trial court which was affirmed by the Court of Appeal in view of the position of the AGF in the affidavit of urgency that the purported APC elected Chairmen and Councilors are the ones running the affairs of the Local Government Councils in Osun and will be paid the said allocation, among others.”

Responding, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, who represented the AGF, informed the court that he was yet to be served with the Notice of Discontinuance.

He however, pointed out that even if the notice was duly served on him, it could not stop the proceedings of the day until the court made an order to that effect, adding that such notice must be attached with an affidavit of service.

In his own response, CBN’s lawyer, Murtala Abdulrasheed, SAN informed the court that the AGF wrote to the Chief Judge for the matter to be heard expeditiously by a vacation judge.

He told the Court that the first defendant filed seven processes challenging the plaintiff’s motion for stay of proceedings, and against the motion challenging the administrative power of the CJ to transfer the matter from Osun to Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, among others.

On his part, counsel to the Accountant General of the Federation, Tajudeen Oladoja, SAN said, if the matter is not heard during the court’s vacation, it would become an academic exercise and prayed the court to hear all the processes filed in the matter together.

After listening to the submissions of counsel in the matter, the trial Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case till September 22, 2025 for hearing of all the applications filed in the matter.

The suit, which was filed on behalf of Osun State by the state Attorney General, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, seeks to restrain the CBN and the AGF from opening and maintaining accounts for the local government chairmen elected in October 2022 under the APC.

The chairmen in question were elected in an election that only featured candidates from the APC.

Specifically, the plaintiff wants “an interim injunction restraining the defendants from opening, operating, or maintaining local government accounts in favour of the Chairmen and Councillors who have been sacked or removed from office by a subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court.”

Another relief seeks to restrain the CBN and Accountant General of the Federation “from disbursing allocations to the sacked APC Chairmen and Councillors.”