Lawyer Demands Transfer of Osun LG Funds Suit Back to Osogbo

The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 29 to hear a motion filed by the Osun State Government challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain a suit on withheld Local Government funds.

On Monday, the state government argued that since the court’s vacation ended on September 16, the case should be returned to Osogbo for proper hearing and determination.

The motion, filed by lead counsel Musibau Adetumbi, SAN, rested on two main grounds. First, that the fiat granted by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for the matter to be heard in Abuja during vacation had lapsed with the vacation’s conclusion. Second, that a purported letter from the office of the Chief Judge mandating Justice Emeka Nwite to determine the suit in Abuja was invalid.

Adetumbi contended that the letter was signed by someone described as “Personal Assistant to the Personal Assistant of the Chief Judge,” a designation he dismissed as legally irrelevant. He maintained that such a letter lacked credibility and urged Justice Nwite to determine its validity before hearing the substantive case.

However, counsel for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Muritala Abdulrasheed, SAN, and for the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladoja, SAN, opposed the application. They argued that it was a delaying tactic, stressing that the tenure of the elected APC Chairmen and Councillors would expire on October 22, rendering the case academic if not promptly heard.

After listening to arguments, Justice Nwite fixed September 29 to first consider the Osun government’s jurisdictional challenge before proceeding to any other issues.

Earlier, the Judge struck out the name of the AGF, initially listed as the third defendant, after the plaintiff discontinued the case against him. Counsel for the plaintiff explained that another matter involving the AGF is pending before the Supreme Court.

The suit, filed by Osun Attorney General Oluwole Jimi-Bada, seeks to restrain the CBN from opening or maintaining accounts for APC local government chairmen elected in October 2022. The state insists that these officials were sacked by a judgment of the Federal High Court, upheld by the Court of Appeal.

The plaintiff specifically requested an interim injunction stopping 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.”

Additionally, the suit seeks to bar the CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation from disbursing allocations to the dismissed APC Chairmen and Councillors.