The Supreme Court of Nigeria on Tuesday reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Osun State Government seeking to restrain the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) from releasing withheld local government funds to the disputed chairmen elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice Uwani Aba-Aji, who led a seven-man panel of Justices, reserved judgment after hearing arguments from Musbau Adetumbi (SAN), counsel to the Osun State Attorney General, and Chief Akin Olujimi (SAN), who represented the AGF.

Justice Aba-Aji announced that the date for the judgment in the case, marked SC/CV/773/2025, would be communicated to both parties in due course.

In the suit, the Osun State Attorney General is asking the apex court to order the AGF to release statutory allocations to the chairmen and councillors validly elected for the 30 local government areas in the state.

The plaintiff also sought an order restraining the AGF from withholding, suspending, or seizing monthly allocations due to the local governments, arguing that such funds should not be tied to the recognition of disputed officials.

The Osun government contended that the AGF acted unlawfully by recognizing the APC local government chairmen through a letter while the matter was still pending before competent courts.

It added that the elections that produced the APC chairmen and councillors had been nullified by a Federal High Court and the decision upheld by the Court of Appeal in Abuja.

Presenting the plaintiff’s case, Adetumbi urged the apex court to uphold his arguments and grant all the reliefs sought by the state government.

However, Chief Olujimi (SAN), appearing for the AGF, raised a preliminary objection, urging the Supreme Court to dismiss the case for lack of merit.

He argued that the Osun Attorney General lacked locus standi (legal standing) to institute the action, as the dispute was essentially between two political parties.

Olujimi contended that the Supreme Court lacked original jurisdiction to hear the matter, as it was improperly filed directly before the apex court.

He also maintained that the suit disclosed no reasonable cause of action and noted that the tenure of the disputed council chairmen would not expire until October 22, making them legally entitled to the statutory allocations.

Olujimi accused the Osun State Attorney General of abusing court processes by filing similar cases in about seven high courts involving the same parties and subject matter.

He therefore urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.