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This is impunity, says NBA, tells Tinubu to release withheld Osun LG funds
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of “violating the Constitution” and “abusing the Rule of Law” by allegedly withholding statutory allocations intended for local governments in Osun State.
In a letter dated August 19, 2025, directed to the Attorney General of the Federation, the NBA asserted that there is “no legal justification for the non-release of the allocations.”
The Association called for the “immediate release” of the funds.
READ ALSO: Osun presses FG to release LG funds after appeal court victory
The correspondence was signed by Afam Osigwe, the NBA President, and Mobolaji Ojibara, the General Secretary.
The NBA pointed out that “the payment of funds from the Federation Account to the local government council in Osun State has been withheld” since February 2025, despite constitutional guarantees of their financial autonomy under Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution.
The Association indicated that its ad-hoc committee on the Osun Local Government crisis had thoroughly examined relevant court rulings, statutes, and constitutional provisions, concluding that the withholding of funds “will amount to a violation of the Constitution, a disregard for the Rule of Law and an affront on clear pronouncements of the Courts.”
The NBA further cautioned that “it cannot but constitute clear impunity were it to be true that funds meant for the LGAs are currently being seized or withheld,” adding that such actions “set a dangerous precedent, weaken public confidence in democratic institutions, and embolden lawlessness at all levels.”
Referencing the Supreme Court ruling in A.G of Lagos State vs. A.G of Federation (2004), the NBA emphasized that the “President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has no power to suspend, withhold or direct the suspension or withholding… the statutory allocations due and payable to the Local Government Councils.”
The Association also highlighted conflicting judgments stemming from the October 2022 Osun local government elections. While the Federal High Court annulled the election of All Progressives Congress (APC) council officials, subsequent appeals led to a legal deadlock.
However, following new elections held in February 2025, the NBA stated that “the only valid and legitimate officials who can legally occupy the elective offices in the LGAs in Osun State are those of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).”
The letter criticized the Federal Government’s reported decision to freeze disbursements to Osun LGAs, asserting that “the Constitution does not and could not have intended that the Federal Government or the President… has the power to direct the Minister of Finance not to release statutory allocations.”
The NBA stressed that “whenever there is any disagreement or dispute between the Federation and any State with regard to the release of statutory allocations… the avenue provided by the Constitution… are the superior courts of record.”
In conclusion, the NBA announced that it has instructed its National Litigation Committee and the Section on Public Interest and Development Law “to urgently initiate engagement with the dramatis personae or relevant stakeholders” to ensure adherence to constitutional provisions and court rulings.
This situation arises amid ongoing controversies regarding the non-release of state allocations.
SaharaReporters previously reported that President Bola Tinubu disregarded appeals from Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, for the release of withheld local government allocations, according to high-ranking government sources familiar with the situation.
In June, Governor Adeleke visited President Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, where one of the primary topics discussed was the suspension of local government funds to Osun.
However, sources revealed that Tinubu reminded Adeleke that he had ordered the removal of local government chairmen, suggesting that this decision was linked to the withholding of the allocations.
A review of official records by SaharaReporters indicated that the outstanding funds totaled ₦46.9 billion at the time of the report, as detailed in a document released by the Office of the Accountant-General.
The breakdown indicates that Osun was expected to receive ₦11.9 billion in March, ₦11.2 billion in April, ₦11.7 billion in May, and ₦12.1 billion in June, but none of these disbursements have occurred.
Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Governor of Oyo State, on Thursday, finally threw his hats into the ring by declaring his intention to run for president in 2027, with a message – history beckons.
The governor, whose ambition has been a matter of speculations for months now and who had teamed up with forces angling to force President Bola Tinubu, out of power, told a teeming crowd in Ibadan on Thursday that time had come to reset Nigeria.
At a mega-rally to announce the alliance between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Allied Peoples’ Movement, (APM), Makinde, expressed worry over the dwindling fortunes of Nigerians, vowing to engage Nigerians to end the drift.
Hear him: “Without a multi-party system, there is no democracy. Where is our multi-party? Where do we go from here? We have been pushed to the wall.
“They calculated and self-opposition cannot unite but I am here to say that the opposition is the everyday Nigerian. This is the time for all us to ensure Nigeria works for us. This is the time to confront it fears. It is time to engage as citizens and not spectators.
“For the opposition political parties, this is the time to unite and work in unity and give our nation the much reset it needs. The time to reset Nigeria is now. Ibadan is the city of warriors. The first grand alliance is formed. The PDP and APM is formed. This handshake will allow us to field candidates from presidency to state Assembly. And so, I declare my candidacy for office of the president of Nigeria.”
Eyo Ekpe, a professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH), on Wednesday, gave a detailed account on how operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) manhandled him on Monday.
He told reporters that he was at sea on why he should fall victim to the assault against his person and eventually arrested given that was not right person directly involved in the information the agency sought.
Some operatives of the EFCC who invaded the hospital, had whisked Ekpe away after firing teargas to scare away the workers, patients and visitors to the hospital, following what appeared like a fracas the ensued over what it claimed was a routine duty in the facility.
Ekpe, Deputy Chairman of the hospital’s Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), described how an operative had first entered his office to make inquiries on why the hospital was yet to give a response to an EFCC inquiry over a medical report linked to a suspect facing trial.
He detailed how he briefed the operative that the said response was being prepared and even went ahead to show him the draft of a letter in that regard, which needed to go through the gamut of official endorsement before being released.
Hear him: “The head of that internal medicine department looked at the report and also discovered that the name of the doctor that signed the report is not a member of staff of that department.
“I had prepared prepared a response to the EFCC on Monday, May 11, 2026, based on the findings. When the EFCC operative visited my office the next morning to collect the document, I told him that the response was ready in draft. I even showed him the draft, but told him that the document still needed approval from the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital before it could be officially signed and released.
“He pretended to have accepted that. He left, but later later returned with another armed operative and informed me that I was under arrest. I asked him why. I was not the one that issued the medical report. My name is not on the medical report. The report was not issued from my unit.
“But he said I would get the answer when I get to their office. I then asked him to at least wait for my staff member who I sent on an errand before joining them. But they refused.
“They started pushing me. They dragged me out of the office. Then I began to cry while they were dragging me. They had warned me not to speak. They had taken my phone. My cry as they were dragging me, attracted the workers to the scene, who enquired what was going on, but because they ordered me not to speak, I couldn’t say anything. They had their guns.
The members of staff of the hospital initially blocked them from taking me away. They then made a call. After that I saw many masked and armed men came violently, broke the protector, threatening the people that were around and people ran away.
“They picked some staff that were still by me. they dragged me and other staff, five of us into their van downstairs. By that time they discovered that the gate of the hospital were locked. So, they drove towards the gate and packed and the commotion continued. We were inside the van.
“I was so emotionally and psychologically traumatised that I couldn’t even look out of the vehicle to see what was happening outside. But I know that teargas and live bullets were shot. That’s all I can say for now.”
Joyce Abdulmalik, of the Federal High Court, Abuja, heard on Wednesday, how Zenith Bank raised alarm over the huge transaction in one of its branches by Abubakar Malami, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF-MoJ).
The bank said it immediately filed a Suspicious Transaction Report (STR) in respect to the transactions, during its appearance in the ongoing trial of Malami, his wife, and son over allegation of massive looting of funds belonging to the Federal Government during his tenure.
Mashelia Bata, a compliance officer with the bank, who appeared as witness in the case, where Malami, et al, are facing a 16-count charge bordering on alleged money laundering to the tune of N8.7 billion, to which they pleaded not guilty, gave the testimony while being questioned on the bank’s roles in the matter.
Details of the testimony conveyed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated how the compliance officer who was cross-examined by Adebayo Adedeji, lawyer to the defendants admitted that the deposits in the account statements complied with the guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Arguments had stretched when Adedeji, opposed Jibrin Okutepa (SAN), lawyer to the EFCC, who had asked the witness to explain the meaning of a suspicious transaction report, stressing that there was no ambiguity in the term.
However, Okutepa, in response, maintained that section 215(3) of the Evidence Act did not preclude him from re-examining the witness while urging the court to allow the question for proper explanation.
After Abdulmalik, agreed and overruled Adedeji, the witness told the court that banks were required to alert the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about fund deposits coming in a repetitive pattern, adding: “Any deposition of funds seen in a pattern or repetitive, you must escalate it to the NFIU.”
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