The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed an objection filed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) seeking to halt a case over the alleged withholding of Osun State’s local government allocations.
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The case was filed by the Osun State Attorney-General, who is challenging the release of funds to local government officials sacked during the tenure of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
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Delivering his ruling on Thursday, Justice Emeka Nwite held that the Osun Attorney-General had the legal right to initiate the suit on behalf of the state’s local councils. He ruled that as the state’s chief law officer, the Attorney-General is empowered to protect public interests, including the management of local government funds.
The court also dismissed the argument that the case was an abuse of court process. Justice Nwite said there was no evidence showing that the state government had acted in a way that obstructed or misused the judicial process.
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On the issue of transferring the case from the Osogbo division to Abuja, the judge ruled that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court acted within his powers under Section 21(1) of the Federal High Court Act, which allows such transfers before judgment.
Justice Nwite described the claim of bias in the transfer as baseless, stating that an administrative action by the Chief Judge could not be interpreted as prejudice without credible evidence.
He dismissed the application challenging the transfer and reaffirmed that the matter would continue in Abuja.
The case was adjourned to October 17 for further hearing. The AGF was earlier removed from the suit after the plaintiff discontinued action against him, citing a similar matter already before the Supreme Court.
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