The Osun State Government has filed a new suit at the Supreme Court against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), over the alleged unlawful withholding of statutory allocations owed to its 30 local government councils since March 2025.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The fresh action, instituted on Monday, follows a previous application by the state government to withdraw an earlier suit on the same matter.

In the originating summons, Osun State, represented by its Attorney-General and a legal team led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), is urging the apex court to direct the Federal Government to release all withheld funds and halt what it described as “an unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure” of local government revenues.

The state argued that the AGF disregarded existing rulings from the Federal High Court, Osogbo (November 30, 2022), and the Court of Appeal (June 13, 2025), which affirmed the legitimacy of council chairmen and councillors elected on February 22, 2025.

According to Osun, a March 26, 2025 letter from the AGF recommended withholding the allocations pending resolution of a so-called “local government crisis.” The state maintained that the appellate court ruling had already settled the matter, nullifying the October 2022 polls conducted under the previous administration.

Among the reliefs sought, Osun is requesting declarations that the AGF lacks constitutional authority to seize local government funds, that his actions contravene valid court judgments, and that all withheld allocations be released directly to the accounts of duly elected councils. The state also seeks a perpetual injunction preventing any future seizures.

“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,” the suit states.

The state has raised five key issues for determination by the Supreme Court, including whether the AGF is constitutionally obligated under Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to enforce the rulings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, and whether the March 26, 2025 directive to withhold funds is valid in light of the appellate judgment.

In parallel, Osun has filed another suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, challenging the Chief Judge’s decision to transfer a previous case concerning the same funds to Abuja for hearing by a vacation judge. The state warned that proceeding with the Abuja case while the Supreme Court is seized of the matter could result in conflicting judgments.

In an affidavit, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, described the Federal Government’s actions as “an affront to the rule of law,” emphasizing that only the Supreme Court can conclusively resolve the constitutional questions. He cited precedents including A.G. Kano State v. A.G. Federation (2007) and RMAFC v. A.G. Rivers State (2023).

The state also accused the AGF of creating a “self-induced urgency,” noting that he delayed responding to originating processes for more than 80 days before filing an affidavit of urgency on August 13, 2025. The government further argued that the Chief Judge’s transfer order “casts the lot of the court with the AGF” and risks creating a perception of bias.