An Oyo State High Court has ordered the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to halt the disbursement of funds from accounts belonging to the 30 local governments in Osun State. This decision comes as part of an ongoing legal battle surrounding the controversial allocations granted to the sacked All Progressives Congress (APC) Local Government Chairmen and councillors.
The interim injunction, granted on September 26, 2025, by Justice A.L. Akintola, prevents UBA from paying any money from the accounts of these local governments pending further hearings. This development follows a swift legal action by the Osun State government to address the alleged unlawful disbursement of funds to the APC-appointed officials, whose tenure is set to expire on October 22, 2025.
“The court has ruled in our favour, and the bank has been instructed to comply with this order,” said Musibau Adetunbi, lead counsel for the state government. “We expect UBA to immediately stop all payments from these accounts, as the funds in question were released unlawfully.”
The suit was filed by the Osun State Attorney-General against UBA, seeking an injunction to prevent the bank from releasing funds to the disputed local government officials. The court’s decision follows an ex parte motion, and a ruling on the broader issue is scheduled for October 3, 2025.
In a related development, the Osun State House of Assembly issued a stern warning to commercial banks across the state. It cautioned financial institutions against facilitating unauthorised access to local government funds, underlining that only duly authorised officers are permitted to serve as signatories to such accounts. The Assembly described any attempt to breach this as unlawful and warned of severe legal consequences for any violators.
“The integrity of local government finances must be protected,” said Olamide Tiamiyu, Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Assembly. “Banks must comply with the law, and we will not tolerate any attempts to divert public funds meant for grassroots development.”
Both the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF) have also denied the allegations that they authorised the release of the disputed funds to the APC local government officials. In separate statements, both agencies described the claims as baseless and asserted that no such payments were made.
“The assertion that the CBN and OAGF approved the release of funds is categorically false,” said Murtala Abdulrasheed, counsel for the CBN. “The matter remains under litigation, and there is no factual basis for these claims.”
Meanwhile, Osun State’s legal team is exploring further actions, including requesting the return of the case to Osogbo for proper jurisdictional hearing. This comes after objections were raised regarding the initial transfer of the case to the Federal High Court in Abuja during the judicial vacation.
