The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe (SAN), has sharply criticized the Federal High Court for its involvement in the ongoing local government crisis in Osun State. He raised concerns about the court’s jurisdiction over issues related to local government administration, questioning why senior lawyers had chosen to bring such cases to the federal level rather than the state high court.
In an interview with Journalists on Sunday, Osigwe emphasized that the core issue of the crisis stemmed from the Federal High Court’s involvement. “What is the business of the Federal High Court in making decisions on local government elections in the state? That is the root of the problem in Osun,” he said.
Osigwe also questioned whether the federal court had the authority to rule on the validity of laws passed regarding local government elections, stressing that such matters should be handled by the state judiciary. “Does the Federal High Court have jurisdiction to determine whether a law passed on local government elections is valid or not? Why is it entertaining such cases when it shouldn’t?” Osigwe added.
The situation in Osun State has grown more politically charged following the state’s conduct of local government elections, despite an appeal court ruling that reinstated the previously dismissed APC chairmen. This has led to a standoff between the PDP and APC, each claiming control over the councils.
Governor Ademola Adeleke, who swore in new PDP chairmen and councillors, instructed them to stay away from local government secretariats to avoid clashes with the reinstated APC officials. In response, the APC has vowed to take both legal and financial actions to prevent the new PDP officials from accessing council funds, including requesting that banks freeze the councils’ accounts.
