Belatedly, Nigerian Supreme Court on Tuesday reserved its judgment in a suit challenging the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, by President Bola Tinubu.
A seven man panel led by Justice Inyang Okoro adjourned the court session after parties in the suit adopted their processes including written addresses.p
The plaintiff in the suit are the Attorney Generals of Ten states, while the defendants in the suit are the Federal Government and the National Assembly.
At the beginning of the proceeding, the fifth plaintiff, Delta state withdrew from the suit, which was not opposed by the counsel for the federal government, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
Eyitayo Jegede SAN, who represented the plaintiffs, while adopting his process before the court, noted that their case was not a denial of the President’s power to proclaim a state of emergency but contesting the extent to which the proclamation can be made to affect the offices of the governor, deputy governor, and the State House of Assembly.
Fagbemi in his argument for the federal government, and in response to the courts question, if there was a threat in the process of the proclamation, stated there there was none and that the plaintiffs have not been able to prove any.
He also noted that Rivers state was engulfed in crisis, involving the governor and the legislature prompting the presidents action.
The senior lawyer also submitted that the Governor, his deputy and the state house of assembly were not removed but suspended, as part of extraordinary measures required to bring decorum to the state.
Finally he stated that the president had no choice but a duty to act the way he acted in declaring a state of emergency.
He therefore urged the apex court to dismiss the suit in its entirety.
Counsel for the National Assembly Charles Yohila aligned himself with the AGF’s submission and urged the court to dismiss the case.
After listening to the parties in the suit, the apex court reserved Judgment till a date to be communicated to parties in the suit.
Recalled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Deputy Governor and all the members of Rivers State House of Assembly served out the six months suspension that expired on September 18,2025 before they were called to resume work even though this suit was filed during the suspension.