The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday dismissed a motion seeking to restrain the National Assembly from approving budgets or appointments for the Rivers State Government under its current sole administration.
Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.) was appointed Sole Administrator of the state by President Bola Tinubu following the six-month suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
In his ruling, Justice James Omotosho held that the relief sought could not be granted as the action the applicants aimed to prevent had already been completed.
He noted that the Senate had passed the Rivers State budget on 25 June, following its submission by the sole administrator. The judge ruled that since the act had been carried out, there was nothing left to restrain, and consequently dismissed the motion.
Justice Omotosho also stated that some of the matters raised in the motion overlapped with those in the main suit and would be better addressed during the hearing of the substantive case, which he adjourned to 20 October.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1190/2025, was filed by a group of Rivers indigenes and the Registered Trustees of Hope Africa Foundation. Other plaintiffs include King Oziwe Amba, Chief Julius Bulous, Chief George Ikeme, Chief Amachelu Orlu, and Prince Odioha Wembe.
They brought the National Assembly and its Clerk to court as first and second defendants, respectively.
The applicants had sought “an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the defendants from further interference, approving, supporting or engaging in any legislative activities including approval of appointments or budgets of Rivers State Government.”
They claimed that the budget submitted by Ibas was unlawful, having arisen from what they described as an unconstitutional “voice vote,” which they argued is not supported by the Nigerian Constitution.
The motion for interlocutory injunction was filed on 24 June, five days after the substantive suit was initiated on 19 June.
The plaintiffs asked the court to bar the defendants from acting on any request from the emergency government in Rivers State pending the outcome of the main suit. They further argued that the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers lacked proper legislative backing due to the use of voice votes in the National Assembly’s approval process.
In response, counsel to the National Assembly and its Clerk, Mohammed Galadima, urged the court to dismiss the motion, describing it as lacking merit.
In a counter affidavit, the defendants contended that the plaintiffs’ claims were “contrived falsehood and calculated misrepresentation of facts.” They denied any illegality in their actions and insisted there had been no constitutional breach.
They also rejected the plaintiffs’ assertion that the emergency rule violated their right to be governed by an elected government.
The National Assembly and its Clerk argued that granting the motion would disrupt governance in Rivers and not serve the interest of justice.
Justice Omotosho had initially fixed 18 July for ruling on the matter.
The Senate, on 25 June, passed Rivers State’s 2025 budget totalling ₦1.485 trillion, following a third reading of the appropriation bill.
(NAN)