By Michael Ofulue, Osogbo
The Osun State Government has explained that the decision of a Federal High Court in Abuja to strike out its suit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation followed a voluntary withdrawal by the State Attorney-General.
Justice Emeka Nwite struck out the case after the Attorney-General filed a formal notice of discontinuance on October 17, 2025. According to the government, the withdrawal does not signal an end to its legal efforts to protect local government funds from being diverted by illegal actors.
The suit had initially sought to restrain the CBN and the Accountant-General from paying Osun’s local government allocations into accounts allegedly opened by sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) chairmen in the names of local councils across the state.
However, the Attorney-General withdrew the case after discovering that the funds in contention had already been transferred during the pendency of the matter, rendering it purely academic.
Following that development, the state government confirmed that a new case has been filed before a High Court in Ibadan against the United Bank for Africa (UBA), where the disputed local government funds were allegedly deposited. The Ibadan court, according to government officials, has issued a freezing order on the accounts pending the determination of the case.
In addition, the government revealed that the Supreme Court has heard and reserved judgment in another suit concerning the same local government allocations, effectively making the Abuja matter redundant.
Explaining the decision to withdraw, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Legal Matters, Nurudeen Kareem, Esq., said continuing with the Abuja case would have served no meaningful purpose since the CBN and the Accountant-General had already transferred the funds “in clear violation of a subsisting court order for the maintenance of status quo.”
Kareem added that the state government may at a later date initiate contempt proceedings against the defendants for alleged disobedience of the court’s order.
He reaffirmed that the government’s main concern remains ensuring that local government allocations are managed by duly recognised authorities and used for the welfare of the people — including education, healthcare, and infrastructure — in accordance with the ruling of the Court of Appeal, Akure, delivered on June 13, 2025.
“We enjoin the good people of Osun State not to be distracted by the subterfuge of those trying to hijack public funds for personal gain,” Kareem stated. “Our government remains steadfast in pursuing justice and protecting the people’s interest through legal and transparent means.”