JUST IN: Court Dismisses Suit Against Tinubu’s Emergency Declaration in Rivers

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit seeking to nullify President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State.

Justice James Omotosho delivered the ruling on Thursday, striking out the case filed by Belema Briggs and four others who challenged the March 18, 2025, emergency declaration. The order had suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months, with a sole administrator appointed to run the state during the period.

The plaintiffs argued that the move violated their rights, but Justice Omotosho held that they lacked the legal capacity to institute the action, stressing that only the Supreme Court could adjudicate such matters. He noted that the claimants neither proved membership of the state’s executive or legislature nor demonstrated any harm distinct from that of ordinary residents.

The court also pointed out that the plaintiffs failed to secure the consent of the state’s Attorney General before approaching the court. Omotosho added that President Tinubu’s justification for the emergency—to prevent a breakdown of law and order—was not successfully contested.

Describing the case as frivolous and baseless, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not have the mandate of Rivers people to sue on their behalf, thereby dismissing the suit in its entirety.