By Abiola Olawale
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, challenging the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly.
The legal action, filed on Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/558/2025, follows Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, which included the suspension of the elected officials for an initial six-month period.
However, SERAP, in the lawsuit contended that the suspensions are unlawful and violate the Nigerian Constitution.
SERAP, in a statement by its Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare on Sunday, argued that “the rule of law would be a mere figure of speech if the people’s right to participation can be arbitrarily suspended or violated.”
The organisation also argued that no provision under Section 305, which Tinubu cited, empowers the president to suspend democratically elected officials during a state of emergency.
The organisation is seeking a court order to set aside the suspensions and an injunction to prevent the federal government from enforcing them.
The lawsuit, initiated by three members of SERAP’s Volunteers’ Lawyers Network (SVLN) in Rivers State—Yirabari Israel Nulog, Nengim Ikpoemugh Royal, and Gracious Eyoh-Sifumbukho, also named the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd), the appointed sole administrator of Rivers State, as defendants.
The legal battle stems from Tinubu’s nationwide broadcast, where he accused Fubara of allegedly undermining democratic institutions, including the demolition of the state House of Assembly complex in December 2023 and failing to rebuild it.
The president justified the emergency declaration as a necessary step to restore governance and address security concerns, including reported attacks on oil pipelines in the oil-rich state.
Also, public reaction has been polarized, with the National Assembly endorsing the emergency rule, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Nigerian Bar Association, and various civil society groups have criticized it as unconstitutional.
