A Kano State High Court, on Monday, issued a perpetual injunction restraining the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and others from withholding the 44 Local Government allocations in the state.
The applicants in the case comprising the Chairman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ibrahim Muhd, Ibrahim Uba Shehu, Ibrahim Shehu Abubakar, Usman Isa, Sarki Alhaji Kurawa, and Malam Usman Imam filed an ex parte motion on November 1, seeking the court to prevent the respondents from withholding or delaying vital allocations for local governance in the state.
The respondents in the suit include the AGF, CBN, RMAFC, the Accountant-General of the Federation, UBA, Access Bank, and six other commercial banks.
In delivering the judgment, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad ruled that the applicants had proven their case and granted their relief.
“I resolve in the affirmative that all the reliefs sought by the applicants are granted,” Justice Muhammad stated.
“The AGF, CBN, and RMAFC are under a duty to disburse monthly allocations to the 44 LGAs as democratically elected Local Government Councils.”
Justice Muhammad further declared that withholding these allocations would violate the fundamental rights of the residents of the 44 local government councils, as guaranteed by various sections of the 1999 Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Counsel for the applicants, Bar. Bashir Muhammad urged the court to dismiss the respondents’ counter affidavit and grant the reliefs sought.
The counsel representing the 44 local governments, Ibrahim Isa-Wangida, who was holding brief for Eyitayo Fatogun, SAN, did not oppose the application, emphasizing that the disbursement of the LG allocations should not be disrupted.
In response, the counsel for the CBN, Mr. Ganiyu Ajape, filed a preliminary objection, requesting the court to strike out the CBN’s name from the suit, claiming the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter.
Lawyers for the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Keystone Bank, and Guarantee Trust Bank also requested the court to strike out their clients’ names.
The lawyers argued that the banks had no involvement in the disbursement of local government allocations.
The court has yet to rule on the objections raised by the financial institutions.
