A Federal High Court sitting in Osogbo has taken steps to enforce a N100.1m judgment debt against the Nigeria Police Force, directing the Central Bank of Nigeria to appear before it and explain why funds belonging to the judgment debtors should not be seized to settle the outstanding sum.
The directive was issued on Wednesday by Justice Adefunmilola Demi-Ajayi, following an application filed by the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission and its chairman, Hasim Abioye, seeking enforcement of a judgment handed down in November 2025.
That earlier ruling had awarded N100m in damages and N100,000 in costs against the Nigeria Police Force and other parties, following a legal challenge over events that occurred ahead of Osun State’s local government election held on February 22, 2025.
The court had found that police action against the electoral commission which included the sealing of its offices and the arrest of its staff was unlawful and lacked any legal justification.
With that judgment remaining unpaid, the applicants returned to court through their counsel, I.T. Tewogbade, seeking a garnishee order to compel payment. They specifically requested that funds held in accounts domiciled with the CBN including allocations within the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account be considered for seizure to cover the full judgment sum.
The court granted the application and issued an order nisi against the apex bank, compelling it to show cause at a future hearing why the relevant funds should not be released to satisfy the debt.
The case signals growing judicial willingness to hold security agencies financially accountable for unlawful conduct, particularly where prior court orders have gone unheeded.
