By Chidinma Nwaoji
Fresh Twist in Osun LG Funds Case as Court Adjourns Ruling to Tuesday
The Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, has again extended the order freezing the bank accounts of Osun State’s local governments, pending a ruling on applications filed by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and other parties involved in the ongoing legal dispute.
Presiding Judge, Justice Ladiran Akintola, on Friday, adjourned ruling on the applications till Tuesday, October 14, 2025, after hearing extensive arguments from all counsels.
The applications before the court include one from UBA, seeking an indefinite adjournment (sine die), and another challenging the court’s jurisdiction filed by Kazeem Gbadamosi, SAN, representing the sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) local government chairmen. Other parties, including the PDP and the dismissed chairmen, also filed motions to be joined in the matter.
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Justice Akintola maintained that the extension was to allow adequate time for a fair and well-considered ruling. He also reaffirmed the interim injunction against UBA, keeping a no-debit restriction on 30 bank accounts into which the Central Bank of Nigeria had paid the withheld local government allocations.
During proceedings, UBA’s counsel, Mutalib Ojo, SAN, urged the court to suspend the matter indefinitely pending the judgment of the Supreme Court, which has already heard a related case and reserved judgment. Ojo cautioned that proceeding with the hearing might lead to conflicting rulings between the two courts.
He said, “If this court continues with the case, its decision may clash with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Since the apex court’s judgment will ultimately prevail, going forward now may only waste judicial time.”
But counsel to the sacked APC chairmen, Gbadamosi, opposed the motion, arguing that the application was “an anomaly” and should not be entertained until the question of jurisdiction was resolved.
He said, “This suit, which was filed after the Supreme Court matter, amounts to an abuse of court process and should not be allowed to stand.”
However, the plaintiffs’ counsel, Musibau Adetunmbi, SAN, countered that his clients approached the court only after discovering that the CBN and the Accountant-General of the Federation had transferred the disputed funds to UBA despite the pending Supreme Court case.
He stated, “The Supreme Court does not have original jurisdiction over UBA, but this High Court does. That’s why we brought the case here.”
After hearing all submissions, Justice Akintola adjourned the matter till Tuesday for ruling, maintaining the freeze order on the disputed accounts.
The ongoing case follows a suit before the Supreme Court, in which Osun State is seeking the release of its withheld local government funds. A seven-member panel of the apex court, led by Justice Uwani Aba’aji, had earlier reserved judgment on the matter after listening to arguments from both parties.