The Osun State Government has taken fresh legal action against the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), filing a suit at the Supreme Court over the alleged unlawful withholding of statutory allocations meant for its 30 local government councils.
According to the state, the Federal Government has failed to release these funds since March 2025, a situation it claims has crippled grassroots governance and development.
The suit, filed on Monday by the Osun Attorney-General with a legal team led by Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), seeks to compel the Federal Government to release the withheld funds and halt what the state describes as “an unconstitutional and arbitrary seizure” of local government revenues.
The Osun government argued that the AGF has ignored binding judgments from the Federal High Court in Osogbo (November 30, 2022) and the Court of Appeal (June 13, 2025), both of which affirmed the legitimacy of local council chairmen and councillors elected on February 22, 2025.
The controversy stems from a March 26, 2025, letter in which the AGF advised that the funds be withheld, citing an unresolved “local government crisis.”
However, Osun insists that the Court of Appeal ruling had already settled the matter, nullifying the October 2022 council elections conducted under the previous administration.
The state is now seeking declarations that the AGF lacks constitutional authority to withhold local government allocations and that his actions violate valid court judgments.
In addition to demanding the immediate release of the seized funds, Osun is seeking a perpetual injunction to prevent future seizures. The suit emphasizes that the withholding of allocations is “unconstitutional, unlawful, wrongful, and beyond the powers of the defendant.”
The state has also raised five critical issues for the Supreme Court’s determination, including whether the AGF is constitutionally obligated under Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to enforce the rulings of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, and whether his directive to withhold funds can stand in light of the appellate court’s judgment.
Simultaneously, Osun has filed a separate suit at the Federal High Court in Osogbo, challenging a directive by the Chief Judge to transfer an earlier case on the same matter to Abuja for hearing by a vacation judge.
The state warned that proceeding with the Abuja case while the Supreme Court is handling the matter could result in conflicting judgments.
In an affidavit, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Olufemi Akande Ogundun, described the Federal Government’s actions as “an affront to the rule of law.”
He argued that only the Supreme Court has the authority to resolve the constitutional issues raised, citing legal precedents such as A.G. Kano State v. A.G. Federation (2007) and RMAFC v. A.G. Rivers State (2023).
Osun also accused the AGF of creating “self-induced urgency,” pointing out that he delayed responding to court processes for over 80 days before filing an affidavit of urgency on August 13, 2025. The state further argued that the Chief Judge’s transfer order “casts the lot of the court with the AGF” and risks creating a perception of bias.
As of now, no date has been set for the hearing of the suits, but the legal battle underscores a significant constitutional clash between the state and federal governments.