A Federal High Court has dismissed a suit against President Tinubu’s Rivers State emergency proclamation, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s March 18, 2025, proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State. Delivering judgment, Justice James Omotosho held that the plaintiffs, led by Belema Briggs, lacked the legal standing to institute the case. He noted that none of the five plaintiffs was a member of the State Executive Council, the House of Assembly, or had suffered injury greater than other residents of the state.
The court further stated that the plaintiffs did not obtain the consent of the Rivers State Attorney General to initiate the suit, describing it as “frivolous and baseless.” Justice Omotosho emphasized that only the Supreme Court could properly adjudicate such a matter.
He also ruled that President Tinubu’s claim that the emergency was declared to prevent a breakdown of law and order was not disputed. “The appropriate law on Emergency Rule Order was invoked,” the judge said.