Lawyer sues President, demands nullification of LG polls

Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted against President Bola Tinubu challenging the March 18, 2025, proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers State. 
 
Meanwhile, as the President is let off the emergency rule hook, a lawyer fired another salvo before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt over the controversial local council elections held on August 30, 2025.
  
The proclamation of emergency led to the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers and members of the House of Assembly for a period of six months. An administrator was appointed to run the government for a six-month period. 
  
Not happy with the emergency rule, a group which claimed to be Concerned Rivers Indigenes, led by Belema Briggs, had sued Tinubu and three others, challenging the legality of the President’s action. 
  
Among other things, they claimed that, as voters, their fundamental right to enjoy a democratic government was taken away from them by Tinubu, and that his actions amounted to a coup against their people. 
  
They insisted that the conditions precedent to warrant the declaration of a state of emergency were not in place in Rivers as of March 18, when the proclamation was made. 
  
In the suit filed on their behalf by Dolapo Attoni, the group prayed the court to void the emergency rule, restore the suspended elected officials and bar the administrator from acting in place of elected officials. 
  
But delivering judgment in the suit by Briggs and four others, Omotosho held that the five plaintiffs lacked the legal power to Institute the case for so many reasons. He said such a case, being a dispute between the state and the Federal Government, and as constituted by the plaintiffs, could only be determined by the Supreme Court. 
  
In the judgment yesterday, the court held that none of the five plaintiffs claimed to be members of the State Executive Council (SEC), House of Assembly or suffered any injury greater than the rest people of Rivers. 

Also, the court held that none of the plaintiffs claimed to have the fiat of the Attorney General of the state to initiate the case on behalf of the state. 
  
Besides, Justice Omotosho said that Tinubu’s claim that he imposed a state of emergency to avoid the looming breakdown of law and order was not challenged or disputed by the plaintiffs. He held that the breach of fundamental rights claim by the plaintiffs did not hold water because the appropriate law on the Emergency Rule Order was invoked by Tinubu to save an unpleasant situation. 
  
Consequently, he declared the case frivolous and baseless because the mandate of other people of Rivers was not obtained before instituting it on their behalf. 
  
According to him, only the Supreme Court can determine the validity of a presidential declaration of an emergency rule. “No other court, except the Supreme Court, can hear a matter relating to a proclamation of emergency.”

In a suit No. FHC/PH/CS/173/2025 filed last month, a lawyer, Clifford Chuku, asked the court to nullify the polls and declare unconstitutional the Emergency Powers Regulation introduced by Tinubu to guide the elections.
  
Chuku argued that the regulation, which suspended parts of the Electoral Act 2022 and Rivers electoral laws, violated the Constitution and undermined democracy. He argued that the President’s decision to suspend parts of the law for the Rivers elections was unconstitutional and amounted to overreach.
  
The suit lists Tinubu, the Federal Government, the Attorney General of the Federation, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) as defendants.
  
The court fixed October 21, 2025, for the hearing of the suit.strong>Lawyer sues President, demands nullification of LG polls