Osun Govt Accuses FHC Chief Judge of Bias, Seeks Return of LG Funds Suit to Osogbo
…moves to delist AGF as case adjourned to Sept 22
By our correspondent | September 9, 2025.
The Osun State Government has accused the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, of bias in the transfer of its suit on local government (LG) funds from Osogbo to Abuja.
At Monday’s proceedings before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Abuja Division, counsel to the state, Musibau Adetunbi (SAN), argued that there was no urgency warranting Justice Tsoho’s directive for the matter to be heard during the court’s vacation. He therefore urged the court to decline jurisdiction and return the case file to Osogbo.
Adetunbi, who represented the Osun Attorney-General, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, further disclosed that two motions had been filed on August 25, one seeking to set aside the case’s relocation and another asking the court to delist the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as a defendant.
According to him, Osun had already filed a fresh suit against the AGF at the Supreme Court, given the Minister’s alleged moves to release withheld LG allocations to “sacked APC Chairmen and Councillors.” The state argued that continuing to keep the AGF in the Abuja case would amount to duplicating issues pending at the apex court.
But counsel to the AGF, Akin Olujimi (SAN), countered that his client could not be delisted without being heard. He also maintained that the plaintiff had no right to dictate the venue or pace of the proceedings, warning against attempts to stall the matter.
Similarly, counsel to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muritala Abdulrasheed (SAN), and that of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Tajudeen Oladoja (SAN), accused the state government of deliberate delay tactics. They noted that the tenure of the embattled LG officials would expire on October 22, which could render the case a “mere academic exercise” if not heard urgently.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to September 22 for hearing, stressing that the motion challenging the court’s jurisdiction would be taken first. “If that motion succeeds, that will be the end of the matter,” the judge declared.
Osun State had originally filed the suit to restrain the CBN, the Accountant-General, and the AGF from releasing LG allocations to the sacked APC officials, insisting that doing so would amount to flouting an existing court judgment.
