The Osun State Government has taken the Nigerian Government to court over the alleged unlawful withholding of statutory allocations intended for its 30 local government councils since March 2025.
In an originating summons filed on Monday, the state, through its Attorney-General, is challenging the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) over what it described as the “unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure” of local government funds.
The suit, filed by a legal team led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, seeks to compel President Bola Tinubu’s administration to release all withheld allocations and comply with subsisting judgments affirming the legitimacy of the councils elected on February 22, 2025.
According to court filings, the AGF had, in a March 26, 2025, letter, directed the withholding of the funds, citing a local government crisis in the state.
But Osun argues that both the Federal High Court in Osogbo and the Court of Appeal had ruled in favour of the elected councils, nullifying the October 15, 2022, polls conducted by the previous administration.
The state is asking the Supreme Court to declare that the AGF lacks the constitutional authority to withhold local government allocations or disobey valid court judgments.
It also seeks an order for the immediate release of all funds withheld since March and a perpetual injunction restraining future seizures of local government allocations, provided that elected councils remain in place.
“The seizure, suspension, withholding and/or refusal to pay the allocations and revenues due to the constituent local government councils of the Plaintiff State… is unconstitutional, unlawful, wrongful and ultra vires the powers of the Defendant,” part of the suit reads.
The summons emphasises that by virtue of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the existence of democratically elected local government councils is guaranteed, and that the AGF is duty-bound under Section 287 to enforce decisions of the courts, not undermine them.
The plaintiff raised five key issues for the court’s determination, all centering on the Defendant’s alleged failure to comply with judicial decisions regarding Local Government Councils in Osun State. First, the plaintiff questioned whether, under Sections 287(2) and (3) of the Nigerian Constitution, the Defendant is constitutionally obliged to enforce the Federal High Court judgment of 30th November 2022 and the subsequent Court of Appeal ruling of 13th June 2025, which affirmed that judgment as the authoritative guide on the administration of Local Governments, arguing that any contrary actions by the Defendant should be declared null and void.
Second, the plaintiff challenged whether the Court of Appeal ruling bars the Defendant from issuing advice or opinions, such as the letter dated 26th March 2025, that contradicts the Court’s decision favoring the Local Government Chairmen and Councillors elected on 22nd February 2025 over those purportedly elected on 15th October 2022.
Third, the plaintiff questioned whether the Defendant, as the Chief Law Officer of the Federation, can constitutionally assume the role of the Court, as allegedly attempted in an affidavit of urgency filed on 13th August 2025.
Fourth, the plaintiff asked whether the Defendant can continue to cite a perceived Local Government crisis in Osun State as justification for withholding statutory allocations, despite the Court of Appeal ruling of 13th June 2025 being the latest determination on the matter.
Finally, the plaintiff contended that, given no appeal had been filed against the Court of Appeal ruling, the Defendant is under a constitutional duty to withdraw the March 26 advice and immediately release all withheld funds to the democratically elected Local Government officials of February 2025.
“Upon a proper construction of Section 7(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which guarantees the existence and subsistence of democratically elected Local Government Councils in all the States of the Federation including the Plaintiff State, whether the act of the Defendant in withholding, suspending and/or seizing the statutory allocations due to the constituent Local Government Councils of the Plaintiff State since March 2025 till date without any lawful justification whatsoever, does not pose a threat to the existence, governance and/or subsistence of the democratically elected Local Government Councils in place in the Plaintiff State," the plaintiff said.
Meanwhile, the Osun State Government has filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, challenging the transfer of an earlier case on the disputed local government funds from Osogbo to Abuja for hearing.
The original case, adjourned until November 2025, sought to stop the Federal Government from paying allocations to All Progressives Congress (APC) council officials removed by the court.
On August 25, 2025, the state’s Attorney-General, through counsel Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), filed a motion asking the Federal High Court, Osogbo, to stay proceedings in Suit No: FHC/OS/CS/94/2025 pending the outcome of the fresh Supreme Court action.
The state argued that continuing the case in the lower court while the Supreme Court handles the matter could lead to conflicting judgments.
In an affidavit, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, described the Federal Government’s actions as “an affront to the rule of law,” insisting that only the Supreme Court can conclusively resolve the constitutional issues.
He cited precedents including A.G. Kano State v. A.G. Federation (2007) and RMAFC v. A.G. Rivers State (2023).
The Osun government is also opposing a directive by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, as per a letter dated August 21, 2025, ordering the transfer of the case to Abuja for hearing by a vacation judge.
In its motion on notice, the state urged the court to set aside the “purported fiat,” arguing that it breached both court rules and the Chief Judge’s own vacation notice of May 28, 2025, which designated Lagos as the nearest vacation court for cases from Osogbo.
The state further accused the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) of “self-induced urgency,” noting that although served with originating processes, he failed to respond for over 80 days before filing an affidavit of urgency on August 13, 2025.
According to the state, the transfer order “casts the lot of the court with the AGF” and risks creating a perception of bias.
With the matter now before the Supreme Court, the Osun government has asked that all lower court proceedings be halted until the apex court delivers its ruling.