The Osun State Government has filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court of Nigeria against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), alleging the “unlawful withholding of statutory allocations” for its 30 local government councils since March 2025.
In an “originating summons” filed on Monday, Osun State, through its Attorney General and a legal team led by Mike Ozekhome, SAN, and Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, is asking the Supreme Court to compel the Federal Government to release all withheld funds.
The state also seeks to stop what it called “an unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure” of local government allocations.
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The lawsuit argues that the AGF failed to comply with “subsisting judgments” from the Federal High Court (November 30, 2022) and the Court of Appeal (June 13, 2025).
These rulings recognized the legitimacy of the local government chairmen and councillors who were elected on February 22, 2025.
According to the summons, the AGF, in a letter dated “March 26, 2025,” advised that the funds be withheld due to a “local government crisis” in Osun.
However, the state government insists that the Court of Appeal ruling “settled the matter,” and therefore, the AGF has no constitutional right to withhold the funds.
Osun State is seeking several declarations, including a ruling that the AGF has “no constitutional power to withhold local government allocations” and an order for the immediate release of all funds withheld since March, to be paid directly to the elected councils.
The state also wants a “perpetual injunction” to prevent the AGF from withholding these funds in the future.
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Part of the suit 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.”
The state also cites “Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” which guarantees the existence of democratically elected local government councils.
Simultaneously, Osun State has also filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court in Osogbo, challenging a directive from the Chief Judge to transfer a related case to Abuja.
The state filed a motion seeking a “stay of proceedings” in the lower court, warning that continuing with the case could lead to “conflicting judgments” while the Supreme Court is handling the matter.
In an affidavit, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, described the Federal Government’s actions as “an affront to the rule of law.”
He argued that “only the Supreme Court can conclusively determine the constitutional issues raised.”
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