Osun: Claims LG funds released to APC Chairmen, Councillors mere rumour – CBN, AGoF as case adjourns to October 16

Nigeria’s Central Bank and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, have described claims that Local Government Councils in Osun State was released to Chairmen and Councillors on the All Progressives Congress, APC platform before they were sacked by Court as mere rumour.

Both agencies stated this on Monday at the resumed Court hearing on a suit that was lodged before the Federal High Court by the Osun state government, over the withheld Local Government Council funds.

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Lawyer representing Osun State Government in Court, Mr. Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, claimed before the Court that “funds, which constituted the subject matter of the litigation, had been unlawfully released to the APC members between Thursday and Friday.”

The lawyer reminded the Court of a subsisting order directing the observation of the status quo, pending the determination of the suit, but regretted that that has been breached.

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According to the plaintiff’s lawyer, the CBN and AGoF paid the withheld funds through special accounts that were opened for the APC Chairmen and Councillors at the United Bank for Africa, UBA.

He added that upon becoming aware of telhe development, the Osun state government immediately approached a High Court in Oyo state and secured a restraining order to stop the bank from disbursing the funds to the affected persons.

He said the resort to a court in Oyo state was due to the fact that the Osun state judiciary had been on strike.

Though he claimed that the restraining order was served on the bank, CBN and the AGoF, Adetunbi, SAN, said he did not attend the court sitting with the proof of service.

Meanwhile, refuting the allegation, Mr. Murtala Abdulrasheed, SAN, and Tajudeen Oladoja, SAN, who appeared for CBN and AGoF, respectively, challenged the plaintiff to adduce evidence to support the claim.

Besides, they urged the court to refuse an application the plaintiff filed for the case file to be returned back to Osogbo for hearing.

The defendants prayed the court to order accelerated hearing of the case, stressing that tenures of the embattled officials would elapse by October 22.

After he had listened to all the parties, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter till October 16 to rule on the plaintiff’s motion challenging the territorial jurisdiction of the court in Abuja to hear and determine the suit.

In the suit, Osun state had among other things, prayed the court for “an order of 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.”

It also urged the court to restrain the CBN and the AGoF “from disbursing allocations to the sacked APC Chairmen and Councillors.”

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