Gross Contempt of Court: How Osun State Government, Magistrate Adeyeba Deliberately Disobeyed Valid, Subsisting High Court Order
The Forum of the Council Chairmen in Osun State under the umbrella of Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) on Tuesday raised a serious alarm over what they described as gross judicial rascality, impertinence and a real invitation to a state of anarchy on Tuesday, 10th February, 2026 as Magistrate A. A. Adeyeba and the Osun State Government flagrantly disobeyed an extant and valid Order of the High Court of Osun State granting Leave to the United Bank for Africa to quash the criminal charges leveled against the Bank by the state government vide prosecution by the State Attorney General.
Recall that the Osun State High Court sitting in Osogbo coram: Hon. Justice M. O. Agboola of High Court 6, Osogbo, in exercise of his supervisory power over the Magistrate court, had on 30th January, 2026 granted Leave to the United Bank for Africa in Suit Hos/M4/2026 for quashing the criminal proceedings being held against the Bank for doing its lawful business at the Magistrate Court in Osogbo.
The Leave was granted alongside another Order of injunction staying further proceedings in the purported criminal trial and production of the criminal record at the High Court for judicial review yesterday, 9th February, 2026.
Magistrate Adeyeba had initially feigned ignorance of the Order of the High Court, when he still went ahead on the same 30th January, 2026 and surreptitiously issued Warrant of Arrest against the Bank and its officials notwithstanding the fact that the pending Order of the High Court was and is still extant from 30th January, 2026.
Osun State Government who has refused to appeal February 10th 2025 judgment of the Court of Appeal that reinstated the APC Chairmen and Councilors instituted over 14 lawsuits after the judgment ranging from the High Court, Federal High Court upon to the Supreme Court and lost all.
The Osun State Government after all the losses suddenly turned back from the Supreme Court to the Magistrate court over allocations standing to the credit of the Local Government Councils in Osun State in what is described as a total disregard for the financial autonomy granted the Local Government Councils in Nigeria by the Supreme Court in 2024.
The event took another turn on 10th February, 2026 when the matter came up before the Magistrate and his attention was drawn to his record that contained the certified true copy of the Order duly filed and served on him as the 1st Defendant.
Counsel to the Bank informed the Magistrate of a Constitutional obligation he has to ensure enforcement of the Order of the Superior Court and comply with the Order.
This was further to the fact that Magistrate Adeyeba as the 1st Defendant in the matter before the High Court in Suit No. HOS/M.04/2026 had a counsel M.A. Yusuf Esq. who represented him in open court yesterday, before Hon. Justice M. O. Agboola, and was served with the Order of the High Court.
Before then, Magistrate Adeyeba had in violation of the law refused to be served in his pretence that he was not aware of the High Court Order.
The Counsel to the State Government urged the court to proceed because the order has been appealed but the Counsel to the Bank said having not been set aside or upturned by the Court of Appeal, it remains binding on all parties including the Magistrate who is the 1st Defendant in the suit. The counsel to the bank further submitted that it would amount to judicial impertinence as decided in the supreme court case of Mohammed v. Olawumi, to proceed to do anything as the jurisdiction of Magistrate Adeyeba to continue had been stayed by Hon. Justice M.O. Agboola of the High Court.
The State Counsel then made a u-turn and asked the Magistrate to bind over the Bank. The Counsel to the Bank opposed this and submitted that the Magistrate and the State government cannot make or take any further step in the matter not to talk of an order binding over innocent persons unless the Magistrate and Osun State Attorney General were prepared to disobey the Superior Court Order.
However, the Magistrate granted the order to bind over the Bank, (not the APC Chairmen and Councilors) in what is a classical instance of gross disobedience to the valid and subsisting superior court decision.
By law, it is crystal clear that the Magistrate, who is the 1st defendant in the matter before the High Court, ought to stay further proceedings having been notified and duly served of the order of the High Court ordering the transfer of the case file to the High Court to be quashed.
Rather than observing judicial decorum, hierarchy of courts.and the principle of stare decisis by obeying the Court order, Magistrate Adeyeba decided to proceed with the matter and order the bank and its officials to stop releasing funds for local government administration in the State and further ordered UBA to enter into a N1 billion naira bond.
The decision is considered to be gross violation of the order of the Superior Court and amounting to judicial rascality and contempt.
Wise counsel offered the Magistrate by one of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria who was in court for observation of proceedings alone did not deter the Magistrate and the Osun State Government.
The SAN stood up and drew the Magistrate’s attention to the fact that granting order in total disobedience to a valid court order of a superior court is tantamount to gross illegality which goes to affect such an illegal order for purpose of compliance. Further that, how would his own order be obeyed when he is not obeying a superior court’s order staying any further proceedings before him.
However, all this fell on the deaf ear of the Magistrate who later threatened to commit the Counsel to the Bank to prison when he stood up and sought the Magistrate’s permission to leave the Court.
It is on record that in furtherance of the attempt to frustrate the local government administration under the control of the APC after losing over 13 lawsuits, the Osun State Government, led by Governor Ademola Adeleke instituted criminal proceedings against United Bank of Africa (UBA) in State v. UBA, seeking to convict UBA and three of its directors and senior officials for releasing funds to Local Governments in Osun under the administration of the elected Chairmen and Councillors of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
Findings show that the Chairmen and Councilors have been paying all the traditional rulers their arrears of allocations before the Osun State Government rushed to attempt to stop it.
Speaking on the development, the ALGON Chairman, Hon Samuel Idowu Abiodun frowned at the palpable disobedience of the Court noting that no amount of illegality would prevail on justice as council Chairmen and Councillors remained firm to defend their mandate and tenure through constitutional and judicial means.
“The conduct of the State Government is one continuing to invite anarchy and their customary infliction of violence in the State”, ALGON warned.
