The Federal High Court, Abuja, on Thursday dismissed a suit filed against President Bola Tinubu challenging the March 18, 2025, declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State.
Justice James Omotosho, in delivering judgment on the suit instituted by Belema Briggs and four other plaintiffs, ruled that the five plaintiffs lacked the legal power (locus standi) to institute the case.
President Tinubu had, in March, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State, suspending the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months, and subsequently appointing a sole administrator.
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Though the emergency rule ended on September 18, 2025, the aggrieved plaintiffs took the President to court over his actions.
Justice Omotosho held that the plaintiffs failed to dispute or challenge the President’s claim that he imposed the state of emergency to “avert a looming breakdown of law and order.”
The judge further ruled that the plaintiffs’ claim of a “breach of fundamental rights” by the president did not “hold water” because the “appropriate law on emergency rule was invoked by Tinubu to prevent an unpleasant situation.”
Justice Omotosho described the case as frivolous and baseless, noting that the plaintiffs failed to obtain the mandate of the people of Rivers State before instituting the case “on their behalf.”
The court highlighted that none of the five plaintiffs claimed to be members of the State Executive Committee or the House of Assembly, nor did they claim to have “suffered any injury greater than that of the general populace” of Rivers State.
Additionally, the court noted that none of the plaintiffs claimed to have obtained the fiat of the Attorney General of the state to initiate the case.
The ruling comes amid news from the Presidency that “over 40 lawsuits” had been filed to challenge the emergency rule declaration, with the most notable being the opposition Peoples Democratic Party’s suit before the Supreme Court.
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