…applies to delist AGF, as court fixes Sept 22 for hearing
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
Osun State Government, on Monday, challenged the transfer of a suit it filed to halt the release of its withheld local government allocations into accounts of Chairmen and Councillors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, but sacked by the court.
The state, which queried the relocation of the case file from Osogbo to Abuja, accused the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, of bias, insisting there was no urgency to warrant his directive that the matter be expeditiously heard within the court’s vacation period.
Therefore, when the matter was called up, counsel to Osun state, Mr. Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, asked the Abuja division of the court to hands off the case.
Adentunbi, SAN, who represented the Attorney General of Osun State, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, drew the attention of the court to two motions he said were filed on August 25 and duly served on all the parties.
According to him, one of the motions is seeking to set aside the relocation of the matter from Osogbo where the suit was initiated, as well as a fiat the CJ issued for the court in Abuja to hear the case during vacation.
The second motion sought to delist the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as the 3rd defendant in the case that has the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Accountant General of the Federation, as the 1st and 2nd defendants, respectively.
Adducing reasons why the state decided to remove the Justice Minister from the case, Osun state, in the process it filed, said it had already lodged a suit against the AGF at the Supreme Court.
“Sequel to the affidavit of urgency filed by the AGF on August 13, it became obvious that he is willing and at the verge of paying the allocation of the Constituent Local Government Councils of the plaintiff’s state to the illegal and sacked APC Chairmen and Councillors.
“Consequent on the above, the plaintiff is desirous of initiating and prosecuting a fresh suit against the 3rd defendant (AGF) at the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
“That, some of the facts, questions and issues to be tabled at the apex court against the AGF would be identical to the facts, questions and issues before the trial court in the instant suit and hence, the need to discontinue the suit against the AGF,” the notice of discontinuance read.
More so, it prayed the high court to stay further proceedings in the matter, pending the hearing and determination of the suit before the Supreme Court marked: SC/CV/773/2025, which is between the AG of Osun state and the AGF.
Alleging that the AGF was “not willing to obey, abide by or comply with valid and subsisting decision of the Court of Appeal,” on the matter, the state said it took the matter to the apex court sequel to a plan to release its withheld LG funds to “illegal and sacked APC Chairmen and Councillors.”
Meanwhile, reacting to the development, Mr. Akin Olujimi, SAN, who represented the AGF, told the court that he was yet to receive any process from the plaintiff.
Olujimi, SAN, equally argued that the AGF has a right to be heard by the court before he could be delisted from the matter as prayed by Osun state.
Besides, the AGF prayed the court not to allow the plaintiff to dictate how or where the case should be conducted, saying there was need “to ensure that this case does not die without a hearing.”
He told the court that he had already filed a counter-affidavit to challenge the competence of the suit, as well as a motion to set aside an interim order that was earlier issued in favour of the plaintiff.
On their part, counsel to the CBN, Mr. Muritala Abdulrasheed, SAN, and that of the Accountant General, Tajudeen Oladoja, SAN, accused the Osun state government of deliberately stalling the determination of the case until the tenure of the Chairmen and Councillors would elapse.
“My lord, there is a political angle to this case and the plaintiff is not desirous to have this matter heard and decided.
“The tenure of the Chairmen and Councillors will expire on October 22 and if this mater is not heard expeditiously, it will become a mere academic exercise.
“We are of the opinion that all pending applications be taken together within this week, especially in view of the political nature of this case,” counsel to the CBN, Abdulrasheed, SAN, pleaded.
Likewise, counsel to the AGoF, Oladoja, SAN, stressed that the embattled LG Chairmen and Councillors have barely 43 days before the expiration of their tenure.
He urged the court to proceed with hearing of the case in the interest of justice.
After he had listened to all the parties, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the case to September 22 for hearing.
Justice Nwite held that the motion challenging the jurisdiction of the court would be decided first, saying “if that motion succeeds, that will be the end of the matter.”
In the suit, Osun State had, among other things, prayed the court for “an order of interim injunction, restraining the defendants from opening, operating, or maintaining local government accounts in favour of the Chairmen and Councillors who have been sacked or removed from office by a subsisting judgment of the Federal High Court.”
It also urged the court to restrain the CBN and the AGoF “from disbursing allocations to the sacked APC Chairmen and Councillors.”
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