The legal crisis rocking Osun State local governments intensified on Thursday as the Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo granted United Bank for Africa (UBA) leave to challenge and quash a criminal case instituted against the bank at a Magistrate Court in the state capital.
The ruling was delivered in Suit No. HOS/M4/2026 following a Motion Ex-parte filed by UBA and granted by Justice M. O. Agboola.
By granting leave, the High Court authorised UBA to commence judicial review proceedings aimed at quashing Charge No. MOS/601c/2025, currently pending before the Magistrate Court in Osogbo.
Legal analysts say the decision effectively places the Magistrate Court proceedings under scrutiny, pending the determination of the substantive application before the High Court.
Despite the High Court’s intervention, Magistrate A. A. Adeyeba, who is listed as a party in the High Court suit, reportedly went ahead to issue a bench warrant against some officials of UBA on the same day the leave was granted.
The action has raised serious legal and constitutional concerns, as the Magistrate is expected to await the outcome of the High Court’s determination on the validity of the charge once leave has been granted by a superior court.
Further complicating the matter is the pendency of Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/19/2026 before the Federal High Court, in which the Magistrate is also named as a defendant.
The suit was instituted by reinstated local government chairmen and councillors, who are challenging what they describe as illegal and unlawful proceedings at the Magistrate Court in relation to the disputed charge.
Reacting to the latest development, the Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Osun State chapter, Hon. Samuel Idowu Abiodun, hailed the High Court’s decision as a reaffirmation of the rule of law.
Describing the issuance of a bench warrant as “bizarre,” Abiodun said it was troubling that a judicial officer would proceed against bank officials despite being aware of a subsisting High Court order.
“It beats the imagination of any right-thinking member of the public that a Magistrate, who is expected to uphold the rule of law, would ignore the authority of a superior court and descend on innocent officials who have chosen to seek lawful redress,” he said.
The ALGON chairman urged members of the public to remain calm and law-abiding, assuring that the alleged illegality surrounding the local government fund dispute is being lawfully addressed in court.
As legal proceedings continue at both the High Court and Federal High Court levels, observers say the outcome will be crucial in determining the legality of actions taken in the ongoing Osun local government crisis.
