ABUJA — The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 29 for the hearing of a motion filed by the Osun State government, challenging the jurisdiction of the Abuja Division to entertain a suit on withheld local government funds.
At Monday’s proceedings, Osun State argued that with the end of the court’s vacation on September 16, the matter should be returned to Osogbo for proper hearing.
The motion, filed by lead counsel Musibau Adetumbi, SAN, rests on two grounds: that the fiat earlier granted the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for Abuja to hear the case during vacation has expired, and that a letter purportedly authorizing Justice Emeka Nwite to hear the matter was invalid.
Adetumbi questioned the authenticity of the letter, noting it was signed by someone described as “Personal Assistant to the Personal Assistant of the Chief Judge” — a person he described as a “busybody unknown to law.” He urged the court to first rule on the validity of the letter before touching the substantive case.
However, 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 motion. They alleged the plaintiff was attempting to stall the case, warning that with the tenure of the elected APC chairmen and councillors ending on October 22, the matter could become academic if not promptly determined.
After listening to arguments, Justice Nwite scheduled September 29 to hear Osun State’s application on jurisdiction before moving to the substantive issues.
Earlier, the court struck out the name of the AGF as a defendant after the plaintiff discontinued the matter against him, citing a related suit pending before the Supreme Court.
The case, instituted by Osun’s Attorney General Oluwole Jimi-Bada, seeks to restrain the CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation from opening or operating accounts for APC local government chairmen elected in October 2022, whom the courts had already sacked.
Specifically, Osun State wants an injunction preventing the disbursement of federal allocations to the disputed APC chairmen and councillors, insisting that their continued recognition violates subsisting judgments of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
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