{"id":7627,"date":"2025-04-11T08:21:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T08:21:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=7627"},"modified":"2025-04-11T08:21:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T08:21:53","slug":"court-adjourns-suit-challenging-tinubus-appointment-of-sole-administrator-in-rivers-state-to-june-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/11\/court-adjourns-suit-challenging-tinubus-appointment-of-sole-administrator-in-rivers-state-to-june-11\/","title":{"rendered":"Court Adjourns Suit Challenging Tinubu\u2019s Appointment of Sole Administrator in Rivers State to June 11"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abuja, April 10, 2025<\/em> \u2014 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu<\/strong> and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)<\/strong>, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN<\/strong>, were notably absent on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where hearing was scheduled in a suit challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd.)<\/strong> as Sole Administrator of Rivers State<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Presiding over the matter, Justice James Omotosho<\/strong> adjourned the suit to June 11, 2025<\/strong>, following confirmation from the plaintiff\u2019s counsel, Mr. Chimezie Enuka<\/strong>, that while most parties had been served, the Attorneys-General of Zamfara<\/strong> and Bauchi<\/strong> States were yet to receive service.<\/p>\n

The plaintiff, Mr. Johnmary Jideobi<\/strong>, an Abuja-based legal practitioner, is asking the court to declare President Tinubu\u2019s appointment of a Sole Administrator for Rivers State as unconstitutional<\/strong>, asserting that there is no legal or constitutional basis for the President to suspend or remove a sitting governor and deputy governor in any Nigerian state.<\/p>\n

\n

Highlights of the Plaintiff\u2019s Demands<\/h3>\n

In the suit marked FHC\/ABJ\/CS\/572\/2025<\/strong>, Jideobi asked the court to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    Nullify all decisions and actions<\/strong> taken by Vice Admiral Ibas as Sole Administrator of Rivers State.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Issue an order of perpetual injunction<\/strong> restraining President Tinubu from suspending or removing any state governor or deputy governor, or appointing a Sole Administrator in any state.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Set aside the appointment<\/strong> and swearing-in of Ibas, and direct him to vacate the Government House<\/strong> in Rivers State immediately.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \n

    Constitutional Questions Raised<\/h3>\n

    Central to the suit is the constitutional legality of President Tinubu\u2019s alleged suspension of the elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State on March 18, 2025<\/strong>, and his subsequent appointment of a retired naval officer to administer the state.<\/p>\n

    The plaintiff is seeking judicial interpretation on whether, under the 1999 Constitution (as amended)<\/strong>, any provision permits the President to intervene in state governance<\/strong> by suspending duly elected officials and installing a federal appointee in their place.<\/p>\n

    He cited sections 1, 5(2), 180, 188, 189, 305<\/strong>, and 306<\/strong> of the Constitution, arguing that none grant such powers to the President, and that the only legal grounds for a governor\u2019s removal are by expiration of term<\/strong>, impeachment<\/strong>, incapacity<\/strong>, or resignation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Who Are the Defendants?<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • \n

      1st Defendant<\/strong>: President Bola Ahmed Tinubu<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      2nd Defendant<\/strong>: Attorney-General of the Federation<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      3rd Defendant<\/strong>: Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd.)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

    • \n

      4th\u201339th Defendants<\/strong>: Attorneys-General of Nigeria\u2019s 36 states<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Justice Omotosho ordered the re-service of hearing notices<\/strong> on all the defendants ahead of the next hearing date.<\/p>\n

      \n

      What\u2019s Next?<\/h3>\n

      With the matter now adjourned to June 11, 2025<\/strong>, legal observers say the case could set a significant precedent for the limits of presidential power<\/strong> in Nigeria’s federal system. If successful, the suit could also reassert the constitutional autonomy of state governments<\/strong>, especially in politically sensitive situations like that currently unfolding in Rivers State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Abuja, April 10, 2025 \u2014 President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, were notably absent on Thursday at the Federal High Court in Abuja, where hearing was scheduled in a suit challenging the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (Rtd.) as Sole Administrator of Rivers State. Presiding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":7630,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35,36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7627"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7631,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7627\/revisions\/7631"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}