A Kano State High Court has ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must stop withholding funds allocated to the 44 Local Governments in the state from the Federation Account.
The court issued the order on Monday after local government officials, including Ibrahim Muhd (Chairman of NULGE), Ibrahim Uba Shehu, Ibrahim Shehu Abubakar, Usman Isa, Sarki Alhaji Kurawa, and Malam Usman Imam, filed a case seeking the release of these vital funds.
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The plaintiffs, through their lawyer, Mr. Bashir Yusuf-Muhammad, filed an ex parte motion on November 1, 2024, requesting the court to stop the delay or withholding of funds essential for local governance.
The respondents named in the suit included the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF), CBN, the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the 44 Local Governments of Kano, and several commercial banks like UBA and Access Bank.
Justice Ibrahim Musa-Muhammad, in his ruling, confirmed that the plaintiffs had a valid case and granted the reliefs they sought. The court ordered that the AGF, CBN, and RMAFC must disburse monthly allocations to the 44 Local Governments in accordance with the law. The ruling followed a Supreme Court decision that emphasized the duty of these bodies to ensure that funds are distributed to democratically elected councils.
The court also declared that withholding these funds would violate the fundamental rights of residents in the 44 Local Governments, as protected under the Nigerian Constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. It further ordered the AGF, CBN, and RMAFC to ensure that the 44 Local Governments are included in the distribution of funds from the Federation Account.
During the proceedings, the counsel for the applicants urged the court to ignore the respondents’ counter affidavit and grant the requested reliefs. The lawyer representing the 44 Local Governments also did not oppose the application, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the disbursement of local government funds.
In response, the CBN’s lawyer filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the court lacked jurisdiction and requested that the CBN be removed from the case.
Similarly, lawyers representing other banks, including UBA, Keystone Bank, and Guarantee Trust Bank, asked for their clients to be dismissed from the suit, claiming that the banks had no role in the disbursement of local government funds.
 to release funds allocated to the state's 44 Local Governments, following a legal challenge over delayed disbursements.){kind=link}