*5th Plaintiff, Delta State, Withdraws From Case
THE Supreme Court, on Tuesday, October 21, reserved its judgment on a suit filed by 11 states of the Federation challenging what they termed President Bola Tinubu’s unconstitutional actions in declaring a state of emergency on Rivers State on March 18.
The 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PD)-controlled, states, through their respective attorneys general, questioned the President statutory powers to suspend a serving Governor from office after the proclamation of emergency rule.
They prayed the court to declare that based on provisions of Sections 1(2), 5(2), and 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President “has no powers whatsoever or vires to suspend a democratically-elected Governor and Deputy Governor of a state in the Federation of Nigeria under the guise of or pursuant to the proclamation of a state of emergency in the state of the Federation by the President, including the states of the Federation represented by the plaintiffs.”
The Plaintiffs also prayed the apex court to declare that the President had no power to suspend a democratically-elected House of Assembly of a state pursuant to Sections 192 (4) (6) and 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), as well to declare that the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly was unconstitutional, unlawful, illegal and utterly in gross violation of provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Cited as 1st and 2nd defendants in the suit, marked: SC/CV/329/2025, are the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Assembly.
When the case was called up for hearing, the AGF, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), appeared in person to represent the Federal Government, while Charles Yohila, represented the NASS.
The PDP Governors were represented by a team of lawyers, led by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN).
A seven-man panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, reserved judgment after all the parties adopted their briefs of argument.
Before the matter was adjourned, Delta State, which was initially listed as the 5th plaintiff, formally withdrew from the case, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori having defected from PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The remaining Plaintiffs are Adamawa; Enugu; Osun; Oyo; Bauchi; Akwa Ibom; Plateau; Taraba; Zamfara; and Bayelsa states.
Jegede had clarified that his clients were not challenging the power of the President to proclaim a state of emergency, but “the extent to which the proclamation can be made to affect the offices of the Governor, Deputy Governor and the state House of Assembly.”
Fagbemi, on his part, urged the court to dismiss the suit for want of merit, insisting the President’s action was in the overall interest of Rivers State.
The AGF recalled that the state was engulfed in a political crisis involving the governor, deputy governor and the lawmakers, adding: “No responsible government would sit back and allow the state to burn without taking any action,” adding that Fubara’s suspension, along with his deputy and lawmakers, “was an extraordinary measure to check an extraordinary situation.”
He contended: “My lords, the President had to act and act fast to safeguard the state.
“The starting point is the judgment of the Supreme Court, wherein your lordships held that as things were at that time, there was no government and governance in Rivers State.
“Therefore, the President had no choice, but a duty to act in the best interest of the state.
“What he did was to suspend the protagonists, not remove them. Rivers was in an extraordinary situation and that required taking extraordinary measures to restore peace and protect democracy.”
He maintained that the affected state officials were not removed, but temporarily suspended as part of measures to safeguard governance, adding that the Plaintiffs were “trying to be more Catholic than the Pope.”
His position was adopted by Yohila, who also urged the court to dismiss the suit, saying the Plaintiffs failed to fulfil the conditional precedent that would empower the Supreme Court to hear the suit it described as frivolous and speculative.
He specifically pointed out that the Plaintiffs failed to issue the statutorily required three-month pre-action notice to its (NASS) Clerk, as mandated under Section 21 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.
Yohila prayed the court to dismiss the suit as “unfounded, frivolous and a vexatious waste of resources, time and energy of the 2nd defendant,” and for a cost of N1billion to be awarded, jointly and severally, against the Plaintiffs.
Subsequently, the court said it would communicate the judgment date to the parties.
Other members of the panel are Justices Chioma Nwosu-Iheme; Haruna Tsammani; Obarinde Ogbuinya; Stephen Adah; Habeeb Abiru; and Mohammed Idris.
Recall that following the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, he appointed a former chief of Naval staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as sole administrator to oversee the administration of the state for six months.
That action was later approved by both chambers of the National Assembly.
