The Osun State Government has filed an application before the Federal High Court in Lagos seeking to set aside an ex parte order restricting access to bank accounts operated by the state.
The restriction followed an application by Gamji Nigeria Company Limited over a $13.9 million arbitration award in its favour.
The state government, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Kolapo Alimi, said it had commenced legal action to vacate the order and protect its rights through judicial review of the arbitration award.
Justice D.E. Osiagor had ordered commercial banks to place a “Post No Debit” restriction on accounts operated by the Osun State Government.
The interim order followed an application filed by Gamji through its counsel, Yunus AbdulSalam, SAN, in a suit marked FHC/L/CS/1233/2026.
Reacting to the development, the Osun Government described the order as a product of what it called “deceit and substantial non-disclosure of material facts to the court”.
It also challenged the validity of the arbitration award, alleging that the proceedings and the eventual award were affected by several irregularities.
According to the government, its legal team had already approached the Lagos State High Court to challenge the award before Gamji sought the ex parte order from the Federal High Court.
The government said the order of September 9, 2026, referred to an alleged arbitration award from July 2024, which it claimed did not exist.
“The only arbitral award against the state government was in July 2026, and the said award is presently being challenged before the Lagos State High Court by the state government’s legal team,” the statement said.
The government traced the dispute to a 2017 contract entered into during the administration of former Governor Adegboyega Oyetola.
It said the administration rejected a variation request by Gamji, including a claim concerning whether the state owed the company $15,982,638.22.
The dispute subsequently proceeded to arbitration.
However, the Osun Government alleged that the arbitration process was “deliberately mismanaged” in a manner that favoured Gamji while denying the state a fair hearing and full participation.
The state said its legal team filed a suit at the Lagos State High Court on September 1, 2026, seeking to set aside the arbitral award.
It added that a motion on notice was also filed to suspend enforcement of the award pending the determination of the suit.
According to the government, both applications were served on Gamji and its counsel, meaning the company was aware that the award was being challenged.
The statement alleged that Gamji nevertheless approached the Federal High Court to enforce the award without disclosing that the same award was already being challenged before the Lagos State High Court.
The Osun Government further alleged that the company did not inform the Federal High Court that it had been served with an application seeking to suspend enforcement of the award pending the determination of the challenge.
It said its motion seeking to set aside the September 9 order had now been presented before the Federal High Court.
The state government added that it had brought the alleged non-disclosure by Gamji to the attention of the court.
It said it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the dispute because the matter remained sub judice.