The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over the emergency proclamation in Rivers State.
Justice James Omotosho delivered the ruling on Thursday, declaring that the case, instituted by Belema Briggs and four others, was frivolous and without merit.
The plaintiffs had challenged Tinubu’s March 18, 2025, declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers, which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the State House of Assembly for six months.
Advertisement
The proclamation also led to the appointment of an administrator to oversee the state’s affairs.
In his judgment, Justice Omotosho ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the locus standi to bring the case, stressing: “Such a case as constituted can only be determined by the Supreme Court.”
He added: “None of the five plaintiffs has shown that they are members of the State Executive Committee, the House of Assembly, or suffered any injury greater than that of ordinary citizens of Rivers State.”
The judge further noted that the plaintiffs had no fiat from the Rivers State Attorney General to pursue the matter.
“It is worse still that they did not obtain the mandate of the people they claim to represent before instituting the case,” he said.
Justice Omotosho also upheld Tinubu’s justification, stating: “The claim of the President that the proclamation was made to avert a looming breakdown of law and order has not been challenged or disproved.”
He dismissed the allegations of fundamental rights violations, stressing that Tinubu acted lawfully.
“The appropriate law on emergency rule was duly invoked to save the unpleasant situation,” the judge declared.
Concluding, Omotosho described the suit as “baseless and without substance” and affirmed that Tinubu’s emergency declaration and interim measures in Rivers remain valid.
