The Osun State Government has taken the Federal Government to the Supreme Court, accusing it of unlawfully withholding statutory allocations meant for the state’s 30 local government councils since March 2025.
In the fresh suit filed against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), Osun said the directive stopping its council funds was unconstitutional and amounted to a direct attack on the rule of law. The state’s legal team, led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), is asking the apex court to compel the Federal Government to release the seized revenues.
According to the state, the AGF’s March 26 letter citing a “local government crisis” had no legal basis, especially since both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal had already affirmed the legitimacy of the current council officials. Osun insists that the Federal Government cannot override valid judgments to justify cutting off its councils from due allocations.
Among its prayers, the state is urging the Supreme Court to declare that the AGF has no constitutional powers to withhold local government funds, arguing that his actions violate Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution. Osun is also seeking a perpetual injunction to stop further seizures of its funds.
In an affidavit, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, described the Federal Government’s stance as “an affront to the rule of law.” He stressed that only the Supreme Court can settle the matter once and for all, pointing to past rulings such as A.G. Kano State v. A.G. Federation (2007) and RMAFC v. A.G. Rivers State (2023).
The state also expressed worry over the Chief Judge’s decision to move a related case from Osogbo to Abuja for hearing by a vacation judge, warning that conflicting judgments could emerge if the issue isn’t swiftly resolved.
