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Tag: Supreme Court

  • Rivers Crisis: Supreme Court judgment a declaration of war – Eze

    Rivers Crisis: Supreme Court judgment a declaration of war – Eze

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has described the Supreme Court’s judgment reinstating the 27 defected lawmakers in Rivers State as a declaration of war on the state.

    Eze, in a statement on Friday, condemned the ruling, calling it a black Friday for Nigeria’s democracy and an assault on the people of Rivers State.

    However, he commended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for his resilience in the face of what he called “an onslaught by anti-democratic forces.”

    Eze expressed dismay that the Supreme Court upheld the reinstatement of the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly despite their defection to the APC, an action he argued should have led to their automatic removal.

    “For the Supreme Court to ignore these facts and ask Amaewhule and his group to continue sitting is not only unfortunate, wicked, evil, and undemocratic, but also a **direct declaration of war on the people of Rivers State and Nigeria’s democracy,” Eze said.

    He urged Nigerians to see the ruling not just as an attack on Governor Fubara, but as a broader threat to the nation’s democracy, calling on the public to rise in defense of democratic principles.

    Eze also condemned the Supreme Court’s directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold Rivers State’s federal allocations, alleging that it was part of a larger conspiracy orchestrated by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to undermine the state.

    “This is nothing but an attempt to cripple Rivers State—the state that lays the golden egg for Nigeria’s development. The goal is to render it powerless and ensure its resources are controlled by external forces,” he alleged.

    Eze predicted that the coming days would be crucial as political events unfold in the state.

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    “Regardless of what happens next, Governor Fubara has fought a good fight by exposing how one man seeks to stifle the development of Rivers State and control its resources for personal gain,” he stated.

    The crisis in Rivers State continues to deepen as political tensions escalate between Governor Fubara and his estranged political godfather, Nyesom Wike, with the reinstated lawmakers at the center of the storm.

  • Breaking: Supreme Court reinstates order stopping Rivers allocations

    Breaking: Supreme Court reinstates order stopping Rivers allocations

    ABUJA– The Supreme Court, on Friday, reinstated the judgement that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Accountant General of the Federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers State.

    The apex court further ordered the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly and other elected members of the House to forthwith resume sitting, unhindered.

    The court faulted the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal for vacating the initial order that stopped the release of funds to Rivers State from the consolidated revenue following the failure of Governor Siminalaye Fubara’s refusal to re-present the 2024 Appropriation Bill of the state before the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    It held that contrary to the verdict of the appellate court, the Federal High Court in Abuja had the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the suit the Amaewhule-led 27 lawmakers filed to challenge the continued withdrawal and expenditure of funds belonging to the state without the approval of the State Assembly.

    A five-member panel of the apex court, in its lead judgement that was delivered by Justice Emmanuel Agim, held that the appellate court misapprehended the core issue in dispute when it pegged it on the consolidated revenue of Rivers State alone.

    “This wrong view influenced it to hold that the subject matter was not within the power of the Federal High Court,” the Supreme Court noted, stressing that what was at the center of the case was the refusal of governor Fubara to obey a subsisting court order mandating him to present the Appropriation Bill to the valid Assembly.

    It agreed with the high court that the 27 lawmakers that allegedly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, are still valid members of the Rivers Assembly, pending the final determination of their status.

    The Supreme Court dismissed Governor Fubara’s claim that given the defection of the lawmakers, he had to invoke the doctrine of necessity by presenting the Appropriation Bill to the only five remaining members of the Assembly.

    According to the court, the doctrine of necessity could not be invoked to justify an illegal action.

    Accusing governor Fubara of destroying the government because of his fear of being impeached, the Supreme Court, awarded N5million cost against him.

  • Breaking: Supreme Court nullifies Rivers LG elections

    Breaking: Supreme Court nullifies Rivers LG elections

    ABUJA– The Supreme Court, on Friday, nullified the outcome of the Local Government Elections that were held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.

    The apex court upheld an appeal that was brought before it by the All Progressives Congress, APC.

    In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, the court vacated the November 21, 2024, judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which validated the elections.

    In its lead judgment that was delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the Supreme Court, held that there was no evidence to establish that condition precedents stipulated by section 150(3) of the Electoral Act, 2010, was met before the election was conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commissioners, RSIEC.

    The Supreme Court restored an earlier verdict of the Federal High Court in Abuja, which barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voters register to the RSIEC for the conduct of the LG polls.

    It will be recalled that a special panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, held that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain suit against the Rivers State LG elections.

    The appellate court equally faulted the trial court for barring security agencies from providing security during the elections.

    According to the appellate court, section 28 of the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states but only federal elections, governorship, and Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory.

    It held that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, who had on the strength of a suit that was filed by the APC, stopped the conduct of the Rivers State LG elections, and acted outside his jurisdiction.

    Justice Lifu had based his judgment on the fact that the RSIEC erred by fixing the date for the conduct of polls in the 23 local government areas of the state without strict compliance with relevant laws guiding such elections.

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    Justice Lifu held that the RSIEC failed to publish the 90-day mandatory notice before it scheduled the election.

    More so, he held that the update and revision of the voters’ register to be used for the election ought to have been concluded before any valid date could be fixed for the polls.

    Consequently, he ordered INEC not to make the certified voters’ register available to RSIEC, pending when the relevant laws were complied with.

    He further barred RSIEC from accepting any voter register from INEC or using same for the purpose of the LG polls, a decision that was upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday.