Korede Abdullah 
ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, 25 September 2025, dismissed a suit challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
Justice James Omotosho ruled that the five applicants led by Belema Briggs lacked legal standing to question the proclamation, insisting that such matters fall within the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.
“Such a case as constituted can only be determined by the Supreme Court,” Omotosho declared, adding that the plaintiffs neither represented the Rivers State Executive Committee nor its House of Assembly.
Tinubu declared the emergency on 18 March, sparking political turmoil that saw Governor Siminalayi Fubara and state lawmakers suspended for six months. An administrator was installed to oversee governance, a move the plaintiffs labelled unconstitutional.
The court, however, held that the applicants failed to show personal injury beyond what the public endured. “Worse still, none of the plaintiffs claimed to have the fiat of the Attorney General of the State to initiate the case,” Omotosho said.
Upholding the proclamation, the court maintained that Tinubu acted to prevent “a looming breakdown of law and order.” Allegations of rights violations, it added, were unsubstantiated.
Calling the suit “frivolous and baseless,” the judge ruled that the plaintiffs lacked the mandate of Rivers’ people.
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