LG crisis: Osun APC accuses Oyo judge of bias

The Osun State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, accusing Justice Ladiran Akintola of an Oyo State High Court of issuing “illegal orders without jurisdiction” in two suits brought before him.

The petition, dated October 8, 2025, and addressed to the CJN in her capacity as Chair of the National Judicial Council, alleges that Justice Akintola granted “far-reaching interim orders” that blocked access to constitutionally allocated federal funds for all Local Government Councils in Osun State.

A copy of the petition was received by our correspondent in Abuja on Friday.

The APC alleges that the judge’s actions had caused “massive governance collapse” across the 30 Local Government Areas and the Area Office.

The petition was signed by the APC State Secretary, Alao Kamoru, and the Chairman of Osogbo Local Government, Saheed Onibonokuta, who insisted that the judge’s orders displayed “evident bias, lack of jurisdiction and possible collusion with Claimants.”

“Justice Akintola acted without jurisdiction,” the petition emphasised.

The party alleged that the Osun State Government, through the Attorney-General and the National Union of Local Government Employees, had filed multiple suits aimed at preventing APC-elected chairmen from accessing local government allocations since February 2025.

“After the Federal Government released all funds due to the LGAs on September 25, 2025, directly into their UBA accounts, the claimants rushed to the Oyo State High Court to secure interim injunctions,” the petition states.

The APC argued that the Oyo court lacked territorial and subject-matter jurisdiction since the funds, parties, and disputes were domiciled in Osun State.

“Justice Akintola granted sweeping orders behind our backs, even after affidavit evidence showed our existence as elected chairmen whose rights would be severely affected,” the petition reads.

In Suit No. I/1149/2025, the judge restrained UBA from releasing any local government funds, and in Suit No. I/1167/2025, he further ordered a Post No Debit restriction on all LGA accounts in Osun State.

The APC described the orders as crippling, saying, “Local government administration in Osun State has totally collapsed. Obas, chiefs and workers are unpaid. Chairmen and councillors cannot access salaries. Statutory duties cannot be performed.

“It is highly disappointing that a judge will grant orders to affect the interest of non-parties in a case where it is patently clear that he has no jurisdiction to entertain the subject matter, which arose outside his jurisdiction. We are fortified in our opinion of bias against Justice Akintola on the basis of the extension of the life of the interim orders as granted by the judge on the 3rd of October 2025 in Suit No. I/1149/2025 and the orders made in Suit No. I/1167/2025,” the petitioners stated.

They added that although the claimants admitted filing a related suit at the Supreme Court, they deliberately excluded necessary parties and proceeded in Oyo State “to procure orders by stealth.”

While stressing that the APC sought full probe of the counsel, the party urged the NJC to investigate the circumstances leading to the interim orders in Suit Nos. I/1149/2025 and I/1167/2025, examine Justice Akintola’s conduct regarding jurisdiction, fairness, and impartiality, and take necessary steps to restore public confidence in the judiciary.

“It is our prayer to the Noble National Judicial Council that a probe be conducted into the circumstances leading to the interim orders issued by Justice Akintola of the High Court of Oyo State in both Suit No. I/1149/2025 on 26th of September and 3rd of October, 2025, and Suit No. I/1167/2025 on 2nd October 2025 respectively. It is activities and practices of this nature that have eroded public confidence in the judiciary, and while we, as law-abiding citizens of this country, have absolute confidence in the majority of the members of the judiciary and believe in the institution represented by the NJC, we are insistent on the need for justice to be seen to be done, in all circumstances, this one inclusive,” the petitioners’ reliefs sought.

In a sworn affidavit attached to the petition, Onibonokuta reaffirmed the allegations, insisting that the NJC’s involvement was urgently needed.

“The intervention of the National Judicial Council is imperative to correct the injustice done to us,” he stated.

The two controversial suits cited by the petitioners were filed by the Osun State Attorney-General and the Osun State Local Government Service Commission.

In the suit, Justice Akintola issued an interim order restraining the United Bank for Africa Plc from releasing or allowing access to any local government statutory allocation belonging to all 30 LGAs and the Area Office in Osun State.

The order, granted on September 26, 2025, and later extended on October 3, 2025, effectively froze the flow of federal allocations shortly after the funds were paid into the councils’ UBA accounts by the Federal Government.

Meanwhile, in Suit No. I/1167/2025, filed days later, Justice Akintola issued an additional directive placing a Post No Debit restriction on all local government bank accounts in Osun State.