The Supreme Court, on Monday, struck out a suit filed by 11 states of the federation challenging President Bola Tinubu’s actions in Rivers State, particularly the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and members of the State House of Assembly following the proclamation of emergency rule.
The plaintiffs, all states controlled by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the time of filing, had approached the apex court through their respective attorneys-general to contest what they described as the President’s unconstitutional exercise of powers in Rivers State.
In the suit marked SC/CV/329/2025, the states queried the statutory authority of the President to suspend a democratically elected governor, deputy governor and members of a state legislature under the guise of emergency rule.
They urged the court to interpret sections 1(2), 5(2) and 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and declare that the President lacked the vires to take such actions.
The plaintiffs further asked the court to declare that the suspension of the Rivers State House of Assembly violated sections 192(4), 192(6) and 305 of the Constitution, insisting that the actions taken against Governor Fubara and other elected officials were unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid.
Cited as first and second defendants in the suit were the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Assembly (NASS).
However, in a split decision of six to one, a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court struck out the suit for wants of competence, holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish any cause of action that would activate the court’s original jurisdiction.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris held that the states were unable to demonstrate the existence of a dispute between them and the Federation, a condition precedent for invoking the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction as a court of first instance.
He stressed that the apex court could only exercise such jurisdiction where a dispute exists between the Federal Government and a state or states of the federation.
According to the court, the subject matter of the suit did not qualify as a dispute between the plaintiffs and the Federation, as required under the Constitution.
The panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, had earlier reserved judgment on October 21 after all parties adopted their final written addresses.
Before judgment was delivered, Delta State, initially listed as the fifth plaintiff, formally withdrew from the suit following the defection of its governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The remaining states behind the suit were Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara and Bayelsa, with only three of their governors yet to defect from the PDP.
Arguing the case for the plaintiffs, Eyitayo Jegede, SAN, told the court that the suit was not intended to challenge the President’s power to declare a state of emergency, but rather to test the extent to which such a proclamation could affect the offices of a governor, deputy governor and the state legislature.
In response, the AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, argued that President Tinubu’s actions were taken in the overall interest of Rivers State, which he said was engulfed in a severe political crisis involving the executive and legislative arms of government.
“No responsible government would sit back and allow a state to burn without taking action,” the AGF submitted, describing the suspension of the governor, his deputy and lawmakers as “an extraordinary measure” necessitated by an extraordinary situation.
The position of the AGF was supported by the National Assembly, which urged the court to dismiss the suit as frivolous and speculative. The NASS argued that the plaintiffs failed to comply with statutory requirements, including the issuance of a three-month pre-action notice as stipulated under the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017, and sought ₦1 billion in costs against the plaintiffs.
Other justices on the panel included Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, Haruna Tsammani, Obarinde Ogbuinya, Stephen Adah, and Habeeb Abiru.
