The Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved judgment in a case filed by the Osun Government against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) for withholding statutory allocations due to its 30 local government councils.
The apex court reserved the judgment after taking arguments from Mr Musbau Adetunbi, SAN, counsel to the Osun government and Chief Akin Olujimi, SAN, counsel to the AGF.
Justice Uwani Aba-Aji who led the seven-man panel of justices that heard the matter said that the date for the judgment delivery would be communicated to all parties when ready.
The state government had filed the suit against the Attorney-General of the Federation for withholding its statutory allocations due to its 30 local government councils since March 2025.
Adetunbi noted that the state government had 10 reliefs, 11 grounds and an affidavit of 35 paragraphs.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the state government had filed an application to withdraw an earlier one filed against the AGF on the subject matter.
In the originating summons, the state is asking the apex court to compel the Federal Government to release all seized funds and to stop what it described as “an unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure” of local government revenues.
He argued that the AGF had ignored subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court, Osogbo delivered November 30, 2022 and the Court of Appeal (June 13, 2025), which affirmed the legitimacy of council chairmen and councillors elected on Feb. 22.
The state said the AGF, in a March 26, 2025 letter had advised that the funds be withheld pending resolution of a local government crisis.
AGF” and risks creating a perception of bias.
The state government argued that the the AGF was wrong in his letter recognizing APC Local Government chairmen when the matter was pending before court of records.
It also predicated its case on the ground that the election that brought in the APC officials as Local Government chairmen and Councillors had been nullified by a Federal High Court and upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
However, in opposition, the AGF represented by Akin Olujimi SAN argued a preliminary objection where he urged the apex court to dismiss the case of the plaintiff on various grounds.
Among others, the Olujimi argued that the plaintiff lacked locus standing (Legal power) to bring the case before the Supreme Court to invoke the original jurisdiction because the matter is between two political parties.
