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Osun must refund seven month’s LG allocations, AGF tells S’Court

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The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has urged the Supreme Court to compel Osun State Government to refund seven months’ local government allocations to the Minister of Finance.

The request was contained in a response filed through Fagbemi’s counsel, Chief Akin Olujimi SAN, to a suit instituted by the government via its attorney general.

Osun had sued the AGF as the sole defendant, alleging that the Federal Government failed to release the statutory allocation due to its 30 local government councils for March 2025.

In the suit marked SC/CV/379/2025, the state government claimed that whenit queried the Ministry of Finance over the unpaid allocation, the Minister of Finance, Wale Odun, allegedly said he was acting under the AGF’s directive.

However, the AGF denied the claim, challenging the legitimacy of the suit, accusing the state government of contempt for allegedly disobeying a July 11, 2024, Supreme Court judgment.

Fagbemi argued that Osun’s reliance on the 2004 case of AG Lagos State v. AG Federation—where the Supreme Court ordered the release of withheld funds to Lagos State—was misplaced.

In a counter-affidavit deposed by the Special Assistant to the President, Taye Oloyede, the AGF insisted that neither he nor the Minister of Finance instructed the withholding of Osun’s LG funds.

Oloyede testified that on May 22, 2025, in his presence, the Minister of Finance denied ever receiving such instructions.

According to the affidavit, Osun State never alleged that the President issued an order, nor did it provide evidence that the LG funds were deliberately withheld.

Oloyede emphasised that direct payment of allocations to LGs requires only that they submit account details to the Ministry of Finance.

He claimed the individuals currently administering Osun’s LGs were elected under the previous APC-led state government and remain in office until October 2025.

He asserted that Osun failed to show that its LGs had submitted their account details to the Finance Ministry.

Oloyede further argued that the plaintiff failed to show that it had the legal authority or consent of the LGs to initiate the lawsuit.

Instead, the affidavit indicated Osun’s intention to use the LG allocations to fund state-level health and education initiatives—directly contravening the Supreme Court’s judgment prohibiting states from managing LG finances.

He also pointed out that an earlier Federal High Court ruling in favour of the Osun State Governor had been overturned by the Court of Appeal.

Fagbemi insisted the Osun State Government was in contempt of the July 11, 2024, Supreme Court order in AGF v. Attorney General of Abia State & Others, which ruled that LG allocations must be paid directly to LG councils and not through state governments.

The order barred states from collecting or disbursing LG funds. Osun, listed as Defendant 29 in that suit, had acknowledged the order but allegedly continued to receive and spend LG funds from July 2024 to February 2025.

The AGF described Osun’s lawsuit as a calculated attempt to gain the Supreme Court’s backing to continue violating its own ruling.

He called it an “egregious contempt” and asked the court to enforce judicial accountability.

“The only way to vindicate the authority of this court,” he stated, “is to order the plaintiff to pay back all LG funds collected between July 2024 and February 2025. These should be remitted to the Minister of Finance for onward transfer to the respective local governments.”

In a five-ground preliminary objection, the AGF argued that: “The plaintiff is not entitled to be heard due to contempt. The plaintiff has no right of appeal against the Supreme Court’s decision. The case does not present a genuine dispute to trigger the court’s original jurisdiction under Section 232(1) of the Constitution. The plaintiff has no locus standi to sue on behalf of local governments. Only LGs—not state governments—can seek redress for unpaid allocations. The AGF stressed that Osun State had improperly appointed itself as a ‘watchdog’ over LG funds, despite having no authority to litigate on their behalf.

“If any LG has been wrongly deprived of its funds,” he concluded, “it is the council itself—not the state government—that has the right to sue.”

Meanwhile, it was gathered that Osun State government has withdrawn the suit. However, Olujimi, who confirmed this, said the suit remains in court until the application for withdrawal is formally heard by the court in September.

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Every Nigerian should learn combat skills for self-defence – CDS Gen Musa

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The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has urged all Nigerians to learn combat skills to protect themselves in the face of danger.

General Musa gave this advice on Thursday when he appeared as a guest on Politics Today, a programme on Channels Television.

He likened the acquisition of combat skills to driving, swimming, and other essential survival skills.

When asked whether he would advise Nigerians to learn combat skills for self-defence, General Musa said, “That one should be taken as learning driving, learning how to swim. Whether we have war or not, it is a survival instinct.

“In Europe, swimming is compulsory; [so is] Learning and teaching about security because you have to learn what security is.”

According to him, the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, should train Nigerian graduates in unarmed combat skills for day-to-day survival against dark-hearted men.

The defence chief further explained that security is the responsibility of all Nigerians, even as he urged citizens to remain situationally aware of their surroundings to identify strange and suspicious individuals.

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Uganda reaches agreement with US Govt to take in migrants

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Uganda has entered an agreement with the United States to take in nationals from third countries who may not get asylum in the U.S. but are reluctant to return to their countries of origin, the foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday, August 21.

President Donald Trump aims to deport millions of immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally, and his administration has sought to increase removals to third countries, including by sending convicted criminals to South Sudan and Eswatini.

“This is a temporary arrangement with conditions including that individuals with criminal records and unaccompanied minors will not be accepted,” Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said in a statement.

Waiswa added that Uganda would prefer to receive people from African nationalities under the agreement.

“The two parties are working out the detailed modalities on how the agreement shall be implemented,” he said.

On Wednesday, another Ugandan foreign affairs official had denied a U.S. media report that the East African country had agreed to take in people deported from the United States, saying it lacked the facilities to accommodate them.

Uganda, a U.S. ally in East Africa, also hosts nearly two million refugees and asylum-seekers, who mostly hail from countries in the region such as Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan.

In July, five immigrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba, who Washington said had been convicted of serious crimes, were flown to Eswatini, where they are now in a high-security prison. The deportations are being challenged by a group of Swazi and southern African NGOs, with a high court hearing scheduled for Friday.

Also in July, eight men from various countries were deported by the US to South Sudan, via Djibouti, where they were held for weeks in a shipping container. Meanwhile, more than 250 Venezuelans were repatriated to Venezuela after being sent to a notorious El Salvador prison in March without due process.

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FRSC rewards officer for rejecting 104 bribes in one month

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The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has honoured Assistant Route Commander Babatunde Owoeye of the Osun State Sector Command for his exemplary integrity in July 2025.

The commendation was held during a ceremony on Wednesday, August 20, 2025 at the Osun State Command headquarters.

Records show that Owoeye rejected bribes from traffic offenders on 104 separate occasions.

He also turned down bribe attempts 18 times in May and 38 times in June, reflecting a consistent commitment to ethical conduct in service.

Speaking during the ceremony, Sector Commander Leye Adegboyega lauded Owoeye, stating that his conduct mirrors the FRSC’s long-standing policy against corruption and extortion among its personnel.

Adegboyega added that the recognition aligns with the anti-corruption agenda of the Corps Marshal, Sheu Mohammed, as well as the commission’s broader efforts to promote professionalism and accountability.

“For his exceptional integrity, Assistant Route Commander Babatunde J. Owoeye has been awarded a commendation and a cash gift of N250,000. He recorded 104 ‘Attempt to Corrupt Marshal on Duty’ (ACS) cases in July alone — a feat that is unprecedented in the command’s history,” Adegboyega said.

The FRSC reiterated its zero-tolerance stance on bribery and assured the public that honesty and discipline within its ranks would continue to be recognised and rewarded.

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