Justice Daniel Osiagor of the Federal High Court, Lagos, has granted leave to the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to proceed with its suit seeking details of any direct payments made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the country’s 774 local government areas (LGAs).

According to a statement on Wednesday, the ruling marks a significant step forward in SERAP’s quest to ensure compliance with a landmark Supreme Court judgment delivered in July, which affirmed that state governors and other authorities lack the legal right to control or withhold allocations meant for local councils.

The apex court declared that all allocations from the Federation Account must be paid directly to democratically elected local government councils.

In its Freedom of Information (FOI) request dated 10 May 2025, SERAP argued that the CBN must act in the public interest by ensuring that the LGAs receive their full allocations directly, in line with the Supreme Court’s judgment.

“The CBN has a constitutional and statutory duty to protect the allocations in the Federation Account and the public funds disbursed from that Account directly to each of the constitutionally recognized three tiers of government,” SERAP stated.

The legal action also seeks clarity on why allocations were allegedly paid to Rivers State while similar payments to other councils remain unclear.