An Osogbo Chief Magistrate Court has issued a bench warrant against United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and three of its senior executives over allegations of opening and operating unauthorized accounts for local government funds in Osun State.
The bench warrant was issued on Friday, January 30, 2026, after the bank failed to appear in court for a case filed by the Osun State government through the Office of the Attorney General. The court adjourned further proceedings to February 10, 2026.
The case, filed under charge number MOS/601C/2025, stems from complaints by Osun State local government chairmen that statutory allocations intended for the state’s 30 councils were being deposited into and managed through unauthorized accounts at UBA.
The prosecution alleged that the accounts were opened and operated in a manner that allowed unauthorized individuals access, violating financial and administrative regulations governing local government funds.
Those named alongside UBA Plc include the bank’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Oliver Alawuba; Group Legal Adviser, Mr. Billy Odura; and Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Chukwuma Nweke. The defendants are accused of facilitating the operation of what the government describes as “illegal accounts” for local councils.
The case comes amid a longstanding local government crisis in Osun State, following a disputed council election held at the end of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s administration. The Federal High Court in Osogbo later nullified the election results.
The Osun State Government has maintained that the chairmen produced by the nullified election, conducted under the APC-led administration, were removed by the court and have no legal authority to manage council offices or local government finances.
Reacting to the bench warrant, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi, said the matter “revolves around the control of local government funds” and described the continued occupation of council offices by APC chairmen as “illegitimate.”
Alimi expressed confidence in the judiciary, stating that the government trusts the courts to “carry out their constitutionally assigned duties without fear or favour.”
The court has scheduled February 10, 2026, for the next hearing in the ongoing legal battle over local government fund administration.
The development represents a significant escalation in the political and legal dispute surrounding council administration in Osun State. Earlier, SaharaReporters reported that APC lawyers failed to appear in court on January 28, 2026, drawing accusations from the state government that the opposition party is deliberately avoiding judicial scrutiny to prolong the crisis.
The APC had filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Osogbo, seeking judicial backing to extend the tenure of its local government chairmen. When the matter came up for hearing, none of the listed lawyers, including three Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), appeared, prompting the court to adjourn the case to March 4, 2026.
Alimi said the APC’s absence confirmed an alleged strategy of delay and misrepresentation, noting the party alternated between describing the suit as a “tenure elongation” and “tenure determination,” which he called “clearly bizarre.”
The dispute centers on more than N130 billion in local government funds, which the Bola Tinubu administration continues to hold.
