Showdown Looms As Osun Sues AGF At Supreme Court For Withholding Local Government Money

The Osun State Government has instituted a fresh legal action against the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), at the Supreme Court over what it described as the unlawful withholding of statutory allocations belonging to its 30 local government councils since March 2025.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

The suit, filed on Monday, follows the withdrawal of an earlier case on the same issue. In the new originating summons, lodged by the state’s Attorney-General with a legal team led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), Osun is urging the apex court to order the Federal Government to release all withheld funds and halt what it termed the “unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure” of council revenues.

The state contends that the AGF ignored subsisting judgments of the Federal High Court, Osogbo (delivered November 30, 2022) and the Court of Appeal (June 13, 2025), both of which upheld the legitimacy of the council chairmen and councillors elected on February 22, 2025.

The AGF, in a March 26, 2025 letter, had directed that allocations be withheld pending resolution of what he described as a “local government crisis.” However, Osun insists the matter was already resolved by the Court of Appeal, which nullified the October 2022 polls conducted under the previous administration.

Among its reliefs, Osun seeks a declaration that the AGF has no constitutional power to seize council funds, that his actions contradict valid judgments, and a perpetual injunction restraining the Federal Government from similar actions in the future. The state also demands the immediate release of all withheld allocations into the accounts of the duly elected councils.

Part of the summons reads: “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.”

In a parallel move, Osun also filed a fresh suit at the Federal High Court, Osogbo, contesting the Chief Judge’s transfer of an earlier case on the same funds to Abuja for hearing by a vacation judge. The state warned that allowing the Abuja proceedings to run while the Supreme Court handles the matter could produce conflicting judgments.

Supporting the case, an affidavit by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, described the AGF’s action as “an affront to the rule of law.” He stressed that only the Supreme Court could conclusively address the constitutional issues, citing precedents such as A.G. Kano State v. A.G. Federation (2007) and RMAFC v. A.G. Rivers State (2023).

The affidavit further accused the AGF of “self-induced urgency,” noting that he delayed over 80 days before filing an affidavit of urgency on August 13, 2025. It also claimed that the transfer of the case to Abuja “casts the lot of the court with the AGF” and risks creating a perception of bias.