Court Finally Takes Action in Osun vs APC Chairmen Saga

• The political crisis in Osun State has taken a fresh dimension, particularly on the status of local government chairmen elected on the platform of the APC and recently reinstated by the court
• This is as the Federal High Court at the state capital, Osogbo, finally fixed a date to hear the government's suit seeking to restrain the CBN from opening accounts for the APC chairmen
• The suit, which was filed on behalf of the state by the attorney general, Oluwole Jimi-Bada, is seeking four reliefs from the court

The Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo, the Osun state capital, has fixed June 4, 2025, to hear the suit filed by the Osun state government seeking to restrain the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from opening accounts for the local government chairmen elected in October 2022.

Oluwole Jimi-Bada, the state's attorney general, who filed the suit on behalf of the state government, sought four reliefs from the court. His prayers included restraining the CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, and Attorney General of the Federation from opening or maintaining accounts for the chairmen.

Osun chairmen elected on APC platform

The chairmen in question were elected in an election that only featured candidates from the All Progressives Congress (APC). The defendants in the suit are the CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, and Attorney General of the Federation. The Osun Attorney General's counsel, Musibau Adetunbi, supported the motion with an affidavit deposed to by Olufemi Akande Ogundun.

According to The Punch, the reliefs sought include an 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. Another relief seeks to restrain the CBN and Accountant General of the Federation from disbursing allocations to the sacked APC chairmen and councillors.

Justice Adefunmilola Demi-Ajayi ordered that the plaintiff serve all defendants within seven days and that the parties maintain the status quo in respect of the matter. The return date for the hearing is June 4, 2025.

APC warns against misinterpreting court order

Meanwhile, the Osun APC has cautioned against misinterpreting the court order, insisting that Justice Demi-Ajayi did not stop account opening for its local government chairmen. The party claimed that the court did not restrain the CBN or the Accountant General from disbursing allocations to the reinstated council executives.

The APC's statement contradicted the Osun State government's interpretation of the court order, which went viral on social media. The party maintained that the court actually declined the evil requests and prayers of the Osun State Government.

Reinstated council chairman shot dead in Osun

Legit.ng earlier reported that Remi Abbas, one of the reinstated council chairmen in Osun state, has been killed while on the move to enforce the Court of Appeal judgment.

Abbas, the chairman of the Irewole local government area in Osun, was one of the victims of numerous attacks across the councils in the state.

The reinstated APC chairmen attempted to resume on February 17, 2025, after the Court of Appeal judgement, but were resisted by PDP officials.

Source: Legit.ng