LG Chairmen stage protest, accuse Osun Gov’t of disobeying court order

Osun State Local Government Chairmen and Councillors, under the umbrella of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), staged a protest Wednesday at the Osun State High Court in Osogbo.

The demonstration, which moved from the Government House area, centered on an ongoing legal tussle regarding local government funds.

The council chairmen, carrying placards with various inscriptions, marched peacefully from Lameco through Okefia toward the High Court premises.

The Chairmen had previously raised alarms over what they described as gross judicial rascality and an invitation to anarchy.

They alleged that Magistrate A. A. Adeyeba and the Osun State Government flagrantly disobeyed a valid High Court order. That order had granted United Bank for Africa (UBA) leave to quash criminal charges leveled against the bank by the state government and mandated a stay of proceedings in the trial.

Speaking during the protest, the Chairman of Ejigbo LCDA, Hon. Olayanju Kolapo, expressed deep concern over the abuse of court orders and judgments by the Adeleke administration and the Osun State Judiciary.

He stated that the Osun State Government commenced a criminal trial against UBA and its senior officials regarding funds belonging to local government councils, despite the Supreme Court ruling that these funds belong to the local governments under the principle of financial autonomy.

He further alleged that the state government was attempting to use a Magistrate Court to bypass the Supreme Court’s decision.

According to Kolapo, the state government has instituted over fourteen cases including the Supreme Court matter decided in December 2025 and has failed in all of them. UBA eventually approached the High Court for a judicial review, resulting in an injunction halting the Magistrate Court proceedings.

While the Osun State Government appealed the High Court’s decision, and the matter remains pending at the Court of Appeal, the Magistrate allegedly overruled the higher court and proceeded with the trial anyway.

Kolapo concluded that this represents an unprecedented disrespect for the rule of law within the Osun State Judiciary and called for a legal end to the unrest.