Supreme Court Reserves Judgment in Osun’s Suit Over Withheld Local Government Allocations
Abuja, Nigeria – October 7, 2025:
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment in a case filed by the Osun State Government against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) over the alleged unlawful withholding of statutory allocations meant for the state’s 30 Local Government Councils.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, chaired by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, fixed the case for judgment after both parties adopted their final written arguments. The Osun State Government, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Musibau Adetunbi, urged the court to compel the Federal Government to release the withheld funds. On the other hand, the Federal Government, represented by former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, asked the court to dismiss the case for lack of merit.
The suit, marked SC/CV/775/2025, seeks ten reliefs, including a declaration that the AGF has a constitutional duty to implement and comply with subsisting court judgments affirming the legitimacy of democratically elected local government councils in Osun State.
The Osun Government argued that the February 22, 2025, local government elections, which produced new council officials, were conducted lawfully and that the AGF acted illegally by withholding their allocations. The state further alleged that the AGF disregarded judgments of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal delivered in 2022 and 2025 respectively, which recognized the current elected council chairmen and councillors as the valid occupants of the offices.
According to the plaintiff, the AGF’s decision to divert the allocations to previously sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen and councillors amounted to contempt of court. The state insisted that the actions of the AGF violated constitutional provisions on local government autonomy and financial management.
Among the reliefs sought is an order restraining the AGF from paying local government allocations to individuals whose elections had been nullified by the courts. The Osun Government also asked the court to direct the AGF to release all funds that have been unlawfully and unjustifiably withheld, and to ensure that future allocations are paid directly to the validly elected council officials.
Mr. Adetunbi, SAN, while adopting the state’s brief, accused the AGF of attempting to frustrate justice. He told the court that the AGF, through a letter dated March 26, 2025, had ordered the release of the funds to the APC chairmen who had already been sacked by a valid court judgment.
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, Adetunbi said. The payments were initiated through the Central Bank of Nigeria, but we were fortunate to secure an order stopping the release.
He urged the Supreme Court to grant all the reliefs sought by the Osun Government to prevent what he described as “executive lawlessness” and to affirm the sanctity of the courts.
In response, Chief Olujimi, SAN, appearing for the AGF, raised a preliminary objection, challenging the competence of the suit. He argued that the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction had not been properly invoked, describing the case as a political dispute between the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over control of local governments in Osun.
He maintained that the APC local government officials still had a subsisting three-year tenure that would not expire until October 22, 2025. According to him, the Osun State Government deliberately filed multiple suits to frustrate the operations of the APC chairmen and councillors.
Our position is that this matter falls outside the jurisdiction of this court. The plaintiff has not disclosed any reasonable cause of action, lacks locus standi, and has engaged in an abuse of judicial process, Olujimi argued.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the panel of justices announced that judgment had been reserved and that the date for delivery would be communicated to the parties.
Earlier in the day, the apex court struck out another related case, marked SC/379/2025, which the Osun State Government had filed before the AGF’s directive to release the withheld funds to the APC local government officials.
The dispute over the control of Osun’s local government allocations has been a long-running issue between the state and the federal authorities. It traces back to the October 15, 2022, local government elections conducted under the previous APC administration, which were later nullified by the courts. The current PDP-led government in Osun subsequently conducted fresh elections in February 2025, which produced new council officials now recognized by the state.
The Supreme Court’s eventual ruling is expected to have far-reaching implications for local government administration and fiscal autonomy across Nigeria, as it could set a precedent on whether the Federal Government has the authority to withhold or redirect allocations meant for duly elected councils in any state.
Until judgment is delivered, the withheld funds amounting to several months of allocations—remain frozen, leaving local councils in Osun State struggling to meet basic obligations and community development needs.