Chief Yomi Alliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has faulted the recent position of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on the seized Osun State Local Government funds.
Alliyu argued in a statement he personally signed and made available on Saturday that the law is not a one way traffic, stressing that the defendant will always have converse arguments against the plaintiff/claimant.
The senior lawyer stated that, if he were the Attorney General of the Federation, he would have ordered the release of the funds to the current local government administrators with instructions to the ICPC and EFCC to monitor the funds.
He stated: “If I were to be the AGF, I would have ordered the release of the money to those at the helms of affairs with instructions to ICPC and EFCC to follow the money and give the Chairmen close markings!”
Such an approach, he argued, would allow the local governments to function, while any aggrieved party could seek legal recourse.
He also questioned and raised concerns about the subsequent judgment of the Court of Appeal on the local government finds, as regards its validity.
He argued that the court cannot preserve something that has been nullified, and asked, “Can you put something on nothing?”
Alliyu further noted that the judgment by the Court of Appeal on the seized local government funds may have been “reached per incuriam,” which means without consideration of relevant law or facts.
The NBA had, on 19 August, 2025, written a letter to the AGF, demanding an immediate release of the statutory allocations due to local government councils in Osun State.
The NBA, which threatened a legal action against the Federal Government, described the continued withholding of the funds as unconstitutional, illegal, and a dangerous affront to judicial pronouncements.
Recall that local council secretariats in the state have been shut since last February, following a battle for control between elected officials of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), leading to the seizure of the council funds.
The NBA had urged the Federal Government to respect the rule of law and refrain from setting what it termed a “dangerous precedent” that could weaken confidence in democratic institutions.
The NBA, in the letter jointly signed by its President and General Secretary, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), and Mobolaji Ojibara, respectively, expressed concern over unrefuted reports that funds from the Federation Account meant for Osun local councils have been withheld since February 2025.
The NBA said there was “no legal justification” for the action, and warned that “it cannot but constitute clear impunity were it to be true that funds meant for the LGAs are currently being seized or withheld.”
The body recalled that a series of court judgments had already clarified the legal status of local government leadership in Osun State.
It noted that, while the October 15, 2022 election produced the APC local government chairmen and councillors, subsequent judgments of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, nullified their elections.
The NBA had stressed that PDP officials were “the only valid and legitimate officials” entitled to occupy council offices and, by extension, receive statutory allocations.
“It is the considered view of the NBA, supported by the correct interpretation of the relevant judgments of the Court of Appeal, that the only valid and legitimate officials who can legally occupy the elective offices in the LGAs in Osun State are those of the PDP.
“They are, therefore, legitimately entitled to the release of the funds meant for their respective councils,” it was stated in the letter.
