The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday struck out a suit challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and members of the state House of Assembly during the March 18 declaration of emergency rule, ruling that the plaintiffs had no legal right to sue.
Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the five plaintiffs, led by Belema Briggs, failed to establish locus standi since none of them was the governor or a member of the Assembly, nor did they prove any special injury beyond what other indigenes of Rivers suffered.
The court further noted that the claimants did not obtain the mandatory authorisation of the Rivers State Attorney General before filing the action, and also failed to provide evidence to substantiate their allegations.
Justice Omotosho dismissed their claims that Tinubu’s intervention infringed on their fundamental rights, stressing that they had not shown that due process was breached in the proclamation of the state of emergency.
He added that the nature of the dispute was one that “should ordinarily be determined by the Supreme Court,” describing the suit as “frivolous and baseless.”
The controversial suspension, which lasted six months from March to September, saw Tinubu appoint a sole administrator to oversee the state, a move that sparked widespread debate and culminated in the failed legal challenge.