The Supreme Court has thrown out a case filed by the Osun State Government seeking to force the Federal Government to release allocations meant for the state’s 30 local government councils.
A seven-man panel of the apex court reached the decision on Friday, ruling 6–1 that the suit filed by the Osun State Attorney General was not legally competent.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris explained that the local government councils themselves, not the state government, were the proper parties to bring such a case before the court. He noted that the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction only covers disputes between a state and the Federal Government, not legal actions filed on behalf of third parties.
Justice Idris also dismissed Osun’s argument that the suit was a public interest litigation.
Although the court upheld the preliminary objection raised by the Attorney General of the Federation, it reminded the Federal Government of its duty to fully implement the judgment granting financial autonomy to all 774 local government areas nationwide.
Osun State had approached the court to challenge the AGF’s decision to withhold LG allocations and allegedly divert funds to former APC council officials removed from office. The state argued that an earlier court order had stopped the release of the money, insisting that the AGF’s action amounted to “destroying the res” the subject of the dispute.
But the Federal Government countered that Osun had no valid case, insisting the state lacked the legal right to sue and was merely trying to hinder the former APC officials whose tenure had already expired. It further accused the state of abusing the court process.
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