Friday, February 28, 2025 - The Supreme Court has ordered the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to resume functions immediately.
The court also ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the
Accountant General of the Federation to stop further release of financial
allocations to the Rivers State government with immediate effect.
The apex court directed that the order shall remain in force until the
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, halts all his illegal, unlawful, and
unconstitutional activities.
Specifically, the court ruled that no money shall be released to the
state government until a lawful Appropriation Law is enacted under the Martin
Amaewhule speakership.
In a judgment delivered on Friday by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, the
Supreme Court also ordered the
The unanimous judgment of the five-member panel of justices, led by
Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, nullified all actions carried out by Governor
Fubara for being unlawful.
The apex court criticized the governor for engaging in the criminal act
of demolishing the House of Assembly with impunity to prevent the 27
legislators from sitting and carrying out lawful activities.
Justice Agim further ordered that the Clerk and Deputy Clerk, who were
unlawfully redeployed, must be allowed to resume work alongside the House of
Assembly staff.
The court held that it was an aberration for Governor Fubara to operate
with only four out of the 32 House of Assembly members under the guise of
baseless fears of impeachment.
According to the justices, Fubara, through his unlawful acts, collapsed
the House of Assembly and used his immunity under Section 308 of the 1999
Constitution to carry out acts against the rule of law.
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of both the Court of Appeal and
the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had declared the actions against the 27
House of Assembly members as unlawful and illegal.
A fine of N10 million was imposed on Fubara, to be paid to the House of
Assembly and the 27 members who instituted the suit against him.
The court ruled that the receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations
since January this year by Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a constitutional
aberration that must not be allowed to continue.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court had last year ruled
that the presentation of the 2024 budget by Fubara before a four-member Rivers
House of Assembly was an affront to constitutional provisions.
Specifically, the judge stated that Fubara’s action in implementing an
unlawful budget constituted gross violations of the 1999 Constitution, which he
swore to protect.
The judge had therefore restrained the CBN, the Accountant General of
the Federation, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank from allowing Fubara to access
money from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.
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