The Central Bank of Nigeria has been directed by a Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo to justify why funds linked to a N100.1 million judgment debt should not be released to settle liabilities owed by the Nigeria Police and other respondents.
The order was issued on Wednesday by Justice Adefunmilola Demi-Ajayi following an application brought before the court by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) and its chairman, Hasim Abioye.
The applicants approached the court seeking enforcement of an earlier judgment delivered in November 2025, which awarded damages against the Nigeria Police Force and other parties.
The earlier ruling had “ordered the payment of N100 million in damages and N100,000 as costs over actions taken against the electoral body ahead of the February 22, 2025, local government election in Osun State.”
In the fresh proceedings, counsel to the applicants, I.T. Tewogbade, filed an ex parte motion requesting the court to compel payment of the outstanding judgment sum.
Part of the application urged the court to “issue a garnishee order targeting accounts domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria.”
The applicants specifically asked that “the amount standing to the credit of the judgment debtors… sufficient to satisfy the judgment debt of N100,000,000 and cost of N100,000 be paid to the judgment creditors.”
They also requested that funds, including allocations within the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account, be considered in enforcing the judgment.
The court, after listening to the submission, “granted the requests and issued an order nisi against the apex bank.”
Justice Demi-Ajayi ruled, directing the bank to show cause why the funds should not be released.
The judgment debt arose from a suit challenging the sealing of OSSIEC offices and the arrest of its staff by police authorities prior to the election.
In the earlier decision, the court held that “the actions of the police were unlawful and that no legal basis was provided to justify the intervention in the electoral process.”
