The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed a suit filed by the Osun Attorney-General (AG) against the federal government concerning withheld local government allocations due to the state. In a split decision of six justices to one, delivered on a Friday, the apex court ruled that the Osun Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice lacked the legal right, or locus standi, to institute the case on behalf of the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

The court's primary stance in the lead judgment, read by Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, was that only the LGA chairpersons, having won their elections and been inaugurated, possessed the direct right to sue and be sued over the matter. It was held that since there was no evidence to suggest the Osun Attorney-General was specifically briefed by the LGAs, he ought not to have filed the case on their behalf.

The suit, marked SC/CV/775/2025, saw Osun State seeking ten specific reliefs. These included a declaration that the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) was obligated to obey and enforce previous court rulings that had upheld the election of democratically elected local government councils, which took place on February 22, 2025.

Furthermore, Osun State sought an order to prevent the AGF from disbursing statutory allocations designated for the 30 councils to members of the All Progressives Congress (APC). These APC members had been sacked following the annulment of their October 15, 2022, election by both the Federal High Court on November 30, 2022, and subsequently by the Court of Appeal on June 13, 2025.

The state also requested a directive for the AGF to immediately release and pay all withheld monthly allocations and revenues directly into the accounts of the local government councils led by officials elected on February 22, 2025, and sworn in the following day. Additionally, Osun State asked the Supreme Court to issue an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the AGF from further withholding or seizing funds due to its local government councils as long as the state maintained democratically elected council officials.

Despite dismissing the suit on the grounds of locus standi, the apex court made a crucial pronouncement regarding the federal government's actions. It firmly stated that the Federal Government was unequivocally wrong in withholding the local government funds, describing the act as a “grave breach” of the 1999 Constitution. Justice Idris, in the lead judgment, emphasized that the Federal Government's decision to unjustly seize the funds had