The federal Attorney General (AGF) and Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) have begun drafting a lawsuit filed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu against the People’s Democratic Governor (PDP), challenging the lawsuit announced by Rivers State Emergency Service.
The lawsuit also defended the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who is also the vice-chairman of the PDP Governors Forum.
In response, the PDP governor was engaged to a team of seven senior advocates in Nigeria (SANS) and six other lawyers to represent them in the Supreme Court. The legal team includes Bolaji Ayorinde, Eyitayo Jegede, Kamaldeen Ajibade, Ja Mumeni, Musibau Adetunbi, Samuel Atung and Yunus Abdulsalam among others. They are challenging the president’s power to declare emergency rule in a country and to suspend democratic electoral institutions.
The dispute was triggered by a state of emergency declared by President Tinob in Rivers State on March 18, 2025, which led to a suspension of Fubara Governor Fubara, whose deputy wife, Mrs. Ngozi ODU, and all elected members of the Rivers State Capitol for six months. Deputy Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (Retd).
The National Assembly, composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, voted for the president’s decision through voices. In response, 11 PDP governors from the states of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Delta, Taraba, Taraba, Zamfara and Bayelsa filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court, challenging the legitimacy of the president’s actions.
The lawsuit is tagged SC/CV/329/2025 and seeks specialized in the Court’s interpretation of several parts of the Nigerian Constitution. The governor is asking whether the president has the right to suspend the positions of state governors and deputy governors and replace them with the unelected sole chief executive under the guise of a state of emergency. They also sought to clarify whether the president’s actions contradicted the principles of the constitutional federalism.
Sources in the AGF office confirmed that the legal team is actively responding to the lawsuit. “My colleagues work in the office, as we said.” The Supreme Court has not set a date for the case to be reviewed.
Meanwhile, in response to the Emergency Rules Declaration, the House will set up an interim committee on Tuesday to undertake the legislative functions of the Rivers State Capitol.
The commission’s mission is to ensure that the governance of the state remains within the scope of constitutionalism and the rule of law under the provisions of the National Assembly.
House spokesman Akin Rotimi pointed out that the National Assembly has announced strict legislative considerations by the president and amended the declaration to strengthen democratic safeguards. A key amendment is to designate the National Assembly, rather than the Federal Executive Committee, as the oversight of all regulations issued in an emergency arrangement.
The newly formed committee will be chaired by House leader Professor Julius Ihonvbere, with House Minority Whip serving as Vice-Chair. Other members of the committee include Isiaka Ibrahim, Idris Wase, Muktar Betara and Sada Soli. The secretariat of the committee will be led by Professor Jack Dan Zumi.
Rotimi stressed that the development underlined the House’s commitment to upholding the supremacy of the Constitution and ensuring that extraordinary measures taken in emergencies remain bound by legislative oversight and guided by the principles of transparency and responsibility.
