Court to Hear Osun’s Objection Sept 29, Delists AGF
Court to Hear Osun’s Objection Sept 29, Delists AGF
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 29 for the hearing of an objection filed by the Osun State Government against the suit on withheld Local Government (LG) funds.
The state, through its lead counsel, Musibau Adetumbi (SAN), argued that the Abuja Division lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, stressing that with the court’s vacation having ended on September 16, the matter ought to be returned to the Osogbo Division for proper determination.
Adetumbi also faulted a letter purportedly issued from the office of the Chief Judge assigning Justice Emeka Nwite to hear the case in Abuja, describing it as irregular since it was signed by a personal assistant to the Chief Judge — a person, he said, unknown to law.
He urged Justice Nwite to first rule on the validity of the letter before taking the substantive suit.
But counsel to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Muritala Abdulrasheed (SAN), and that of the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Tajudeen Oladoja (SAN), opposed the objection. They described it as a ploy to stall proceedings, warning that the tenure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) council chairmen and councillors ends on October 22, after which the case may become academic.
After listening to both sides, Justice Nwite adjourned till September 29 to hear the jurisdictional objection and other pending applications.
Earlier, the court struck out the name of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as a defendant, following a withdrawal of the case against him by the plaintiff, who noted that a related matter against the AGF is already before the Supreme Court.
The suit, filed by Osun Attorney General, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, seeks to stop the CBN and the Accountant General from opening or maintaining accounts for APC chairmen elected in the October 2022 local government election an election contested only by APC candidates, and whose outcome has been nullified by the Federal High Court and affirmed by the Court of Appeal.