The Federal High Court in Abuja has stopped the Federal Government from deducting $418 million from the bank account of the thirty-six states.
This followed a restrain order issued by Justice Inyang Ekwo against the Federal Government on Friday after an ex parte application brought by the counsels to the 36 states, Jibril Otukepa and Ahmed Raji.
Mr Okutepa who led the legal team informed the judge that the states would be completely affected, if the Federal Government proceed with deduction of the large sum from the bank accounts of the states.
The sum of $418 million was agreed as a judgment debt after the Federal Government opted to negotiate an out-of-court settlement with the contractors.
The Attorneys-General of the 36 states were listed as plaintiffs in the suit filed by their lawyers on October 27, 2021.
Joined as respondents included the President, the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Accountant-General of the Federation, and the Ministry of Finance.
Others were the Debt Management Office, the Federal Account Allocation Committee, Central Bank of Nigeria, and commercial banks.
Editing by Adeniyi Bakare