The heated legal dispute over the control of local government allocations in Osun State escalated on Thursday, October 2, 2025, after a fresh court order mandated the United Bank for Africa to freeze 30 accounts opened by the court-sacked All Progressives Congress council bosses.
The interim injunction was secured by the 30 currently elected council chairmen, marking another judicial blow against the former APC officials attempting to access statutory funds.
The Certified True Copy (CTC) of the order, signed by the Principal Registrar of the Oyo State High Court, Mrs. B. O. Somide, was obtained by our reporters on Friday.
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The order granted by the Oyo State High Court, sitting in Ibadan, presided over by Justice A. L. Akintola, following an ex-parte motion filed by the elected chairmen.
The court order specifically bars UBA from paying, releasing, or tampering with funds deposited in the 30 local government accounts where the Central Bank of Nigeria had lodged the disputed statutory allocations.
The claimants, including Sarafadeen Awotunde and five others, representing all 30 council chairmen and councillors in Osun State, had argued that urgent judicial intervention was required to safeguard the funds.
Counsel to the claimants, Olalekan Adeoye Esq., who moved the suit (Suit No. 1/1167/2025) at Court No. 5, argued that “unless the court intervened urgently, the funds could be dissipated illegally by the ousted APC chairmen, thereby causing irreparable harm to the lawful administrations of the councils.”
Agreeing with the claimants, Justice Akintola held that the matter required immediate judicial protection.
In his ruling dated October 2, 2025, the Judge declared: “Having carefully considered the claimants/applicants’ motion ex-parte together with the supporting affidavits and exhibits, this court is satisfied that the claimants/applicants have successfully made out a case for urgent and timely intervention as any delay in granting the interim orders might foist irreversible harm on them.”
Consequently, the court issued two main directives. The first was an order of interim injunction “restraining UBA from paying, releasing, disbursing, or tampering with funds in the disputed local government accounts.”
The second key directive was “an order of mandatory injunction mandating UBA to place a ‘Post No Debit’ (PND) lien on the affected accounts pending the hearing of the substantive motion on notice.”
The accounts affected cover all 30 local governments in Osun State, ranging from Atakumosa East to Osogbo Local Government Area, each individually listed with the corresponding account number at UBA.
This latest injunction follows a similar one secured by the Osun State Attorney-General against the same accounts just last week.
Justice Akintola adjourned the hearing of the substantive motion on notice for interlocutory injunction to October 9, 2025.
