Court restrains CBN from withholding Kano LG funds

February 17, 2025 4:25 pm

A high court in Kano state has issued a permanent order restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from withholding funds from the federation account to the 44 LGAs of the state.

The applicants – Ibrahim Muhammed, chair of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and five others – filed a motion ex parte dated November 1, seeking the court to restrain the respondents from withholding or delaying allocations essential for local governance in the state.

The other respondents are Ibrahim Shehu, Ibrahim Abubakar, Usman Isa, Sarki Kurawa and Usman Imam.

The respondents are the accountant-general of the federation (AGF), the 45th defendant; CBN, the 46th defendant; Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), the 47th defendant; the 44 Kano LGAs; United Bank for Africa; Access Bank; and six other commercial banks.

Same month, Ibrahim Musa-Muhammad, the presiding judge, issued an interim order against the CBN, the accountant-general of the federation (AGF) from withholding funds for the 44 LGAs in Kano state pending the hearing and determination of the suit.

Delivering judgment on Monday, Musa-Muhammad, held that the applicants had established their case.

“…The AGF, CBN, and RMAFC are under a duty to disburse monthly allocations to the 44 LGAs as democratically elected local government councils,” the judge said.

“A declaration that withholding these allocations would amount to a breach of the fundamental rights of the residents, inhabitants in the 44 local government councils, as guaranteed under Sections 33, 42 and 43,44, 45 and 46 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria (as amended).”

The judge added that it would be wrong according to “Articles 13,19,22 and 24 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights for the AGF, CBN and RMAFC to exclude the 44 LG in the distribution from funds accruing from the Federation Account in line with Section 162(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)”.