Court restrains UBA from paying out Osun LG allocations

An Oyo State High Court on Friday, 26 September, 2025 restrained the United Bank for Africa (UBA) from paying out any money from accounts opened in the names of the 30 Local Governments in Osun State by the court-sacked All Progressives Congress Local Government Chairmen and councillors. 

The order has been served on the bank.

The Federal Government on Friday released the seized allocations of each of the 30 Local Governments into the controversial new accounts, a decision the state government took to court in suit number 1/1149/25. 

The case which was heard Ex-parte on Friday by Justice A.L. Akintola of Court 5 had the Attorney-General of Osun State as the Claimant/Plaintiff in the case while the UBA is the sole Defendant/Respondent. 

The plaintiff sought the following orders:

"An Order of Interim Injunction restraining the Defendant/Respondent from paying and/or causing to be paid all and/or any of that funds which constitute the statutory Local Government funds of all the 30 Local Governments in Osun State as listed under Osun State in the 1st Schedule, Part 1 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for an order of interlocutory injunction filed in this case.

"An Order of Interim Injunction of this Honourable Court mandating the Defendant/Respondent not to release all the said funds mentioned in relief one above and/or any part of it to any person however he may be, be it artificial or natural pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice for an order of interlocutory injunction filed in this case.

"And for such further order or other orders as this. Honourable court may deem fit to make in the circumstance."

Justice Akintola, in his ruling made the following orders:

"UPON READING the Motion Ex-parte and affidavit in support deposed to by Olufemi Akande Ogundun, Male, Christian, Nigerian citizen of Osun State Secretariat, Abere, Osogbo.

"AND AFTER HEARING A.A. Abass Esq counsel for the Claimants/Applicants, who moved the motion exparte dated 26 September, 2025 and filed on the same date for an order of interim injunction in terms. The court then adjudged and ordered as follows:-

"Having carefully considered the motion Ex-parte together with the supporting affidavit and the Exhibits attached on the one hand as well as the written address of counsel and the affidavit of urgency filed along with the motion, this court is satisfied that the claimants/applicants have successfully made out a case for the urgent intervention of this court at this stage as any delay may foist on the claimants/applicants an irreversible harm, injury or situation of helplessness. In any event, it is only an interim order that the defendant/respondent will have the opportunity to possibly challenge once the defendant turns up to join issues with the claimants on the motion on notice for an order of interlocutory injunction already filed in this case. Accordingly, the interim orders of injunction sought are hereby granted as prayed, on the claimants/applicants.

"Hearing of the motion on notice for the order of interlocutory injunction already filed in this case is hereby adjourned till 3rd October, 2025."

In a covering letter conveying the court ruling dated 26 September, 2025, lead counsel to the state government, Mr Musibau Adetunbi, SAN, informed the bank of its duty to obey the court order. The letter was addressed to the head office of the bank in Lagos as well as its branch in Osogbo, the state capital. 

"Kindly find attached a copy of the interim order granted against your bank in the above named suit. Kindly be informed that all relevant processes have been duly served on your bank and your Legal Department has equally been notified of the Order. However, out of abundance of caution, we believe that you are one of the authorities of the Bank that we should notify.

"The essence of this letter is just to remind you of your duty to comply with the above-stated order, so long as it subsists, and which obviously was made pending the hearing of Motion on Notice.

"Kindly note that the above order covers any statutory payment made to your bank for the benefit of the 30 Local Governments in Osun State," the letter read.

The letter went on to list the 30 contentious bank accounts with their details even as it added that the order covered all other accounts that may not be expressly listed in the court process.