On Friday, 26 September 2025, an Oyo State High Court issued an court-to-stop-rmafcs-proposed-salary-increase-for-politicians/” title=”SERAP wants … to stop RMAFC’s proposed salary increase for politicians”>injunction preventing the United Bank for Africa (UBA) from disbursing funds from accounts registered under the names of the 30 Local Governments in Osun State. These accounts were established by the recently removed All Progressives Congress (APC) Local Government Chairmen and councillors.
The Federal Government had recently released the withheld allocations for each of the 30 local governments into these disputed accounts, prompting the Osun State government to challenge this action through a legal suit numbered 1/1149/25.
Justice A.L. Akintola of Court 5 presided over the ex-parte hearing on the same day, with the Attorney-General of Osun State acting as the plaintiff and UBA as the sole defendant.
The plaintiff requested the court to grant the following reliefs: “An interim injunction restraining the defendant from releasing or authorizing the release of any funds constituting the statutory allocations for all 30 Local Governments in Osun State, as specified under the 1st Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, pending the resolution of the interlocutory injunction motion filed in this matter.”
Additionally, the plaintiff sought “an order directing the defendant not to disburse any portion of these funds to any individual or entity, whether natural or artificial, until the court determines the pending motion.”
Further, the plaintiff asked for any other orders the court might find appropriate under the circumstances.
After hearing submissions from Olufemi Akande Ogundun and legal arguments presented by A.A. Abass Esq., representing the applicants, Justice Akintola ruled:
“The court is convinced that the applicants have demonstrated sufficient grounds for urgent judicial intervention at this stage, as any postponement could cause irreparable damage or leave the applicants in a position of helplessness.”
“It is important to note that this is an interim order, and the defendant will have the opportunity to contest it once they formally respond to the motion for interlocutory injunction.”
“Therefore, the court grants the interim injunction as requested by the applicants.”
The court scheduled the hearing for the substantive motion on interlocutory injunction for 3 October 2025.
Following the ruling, the lead counsel for the Osun State government, Mr. Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, sent a formal letter to UBA’s headquarters in Lagos and its Osogbo branch, emphasizing the bank’s obligation to comply with the court’s directive.
The letter stated: “Please be advised that all relevant legal documents have been properly served on your institution, and your Legal Department has been duly informed of this order. Nonetheless, as a precaution, we are notifying your senior management to ensure full compliance.”
“This communication serves as a reminder of your duty to adhere strictly to the court’s injunction for the duration it remains in effect, pending the hearing of the interlocutory motion.”
“Kindly note that this order applies to any statutory payments made to your bank intended for the benefit of the 30 Local Governments in Osun State.”
