• The Supreme Court has struck out the case file of the Osun state government seeking to compel the federal government to release the state’s LGCs allocations, which were being withheld
• The seven-member panel of the apex court held that the suit, which was filed by the state’s attorney general of the state, was not within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
• Justice Mohammed Idris of the Supreme Court held that the apex court did not have the legal right (locus standi) and that the state cannot institute a suit on behalf of the local government

The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit filed by the Osun state government to compel the Federal Government to release the state’s local government councils (LGCs) allocations, which were withheld.

In a split judgment of six to one, the seven-member panel of the Supreme Court held that the suit, which was filed by the Osun State Attorney General before the apex court, did not have competence.

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Why the Supreme Court struck out Osun suit

Vanguard reported that Justice Mohammed Idris of the Supreme Court, who read the lead judgment, held that the Osun state government did not have the legal right (locus standi) to file a legal suit at the Supreme Court on behalf of the 30 local governments in the state.

The judge held that the Supreme Court could only be invited as a court of first instance in a matter between a state in the country and the federal government. The apex court held that the Osun LGCs are legally recognised as entities that are autonomous, and they can sue and be sued.

Justice Idris ruled that the LGCs were the right parties that could challenge the action of the federal government, adding that the Supreme Court did not have the requisite jurisdiction to welcome the case. He also dismissed the argument of the Osun state Attorney General that the suit was of public interest.

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While the Supreme Court upheld the Attorney General of the Federation’s preliminary objection challenging the competence of the apex court in the suit, it, however, urged the federal government to fully implement its ruling, which granted fiscal autonomy to all the 7774 local government areas in the country.

LG autonomy: Osun moves to stop CBN

Earlier in 2025, a suit was filed by the Osun state government seeking to restrain the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from opening accounts for the local government chairmen elected in October 2022.

Oluwole Jimi-Bada, the state’s attorney general, who filed the suit on behalf of the state government, sought four reliefs from the court. His prayers included restraining the CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, and Attorney General of the Federation from opening or maintaining accounts for the chairmen.

The chairmen in question were elected in an election that only featured candidates from the All Progressives Congress (APC). The defendants in the suit are the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, and the Attorney General of the Federation. The Osun Attorney General’s counsel, Musibau Adetunbi, supported the motion with an affidavit deposed to by Olufemi Akande Ogundun.

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Reinstated council chairman shot dead in Osun

Legit.ng earlier reported that Remi Abbas, one of the reinstated council chairmen in Osun state, has been killed while on the move to enforce the Court of Appeal judgment.

Abbas, the chairman of the Irewole local government area in Osun, was one of the victims of numerous attacks across the councils in the state.

The reinstated APC chairmen attempted to resume on February 17, 2025, after the Court of Appeal judgement, but were resisted by PDP officials.

Source: Legit.ng