The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has described the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State as a “clear signal” to other crisis-ridden states that the Federal Government will not tolerate breaches of the Constitution.
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Fagbemi said President Bola Tinubu took a “bold decision” to stop the state from “complete collapse,” stressing that Governor Sim Fubara would have been impeached if not for the presidential intervention.
“Let the signal be clearly sent for those who want to foment trouble,” the AGF said when he briefed State House Correspondents at an emergency edition of Meet the Press organised by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Wednesday.
Fagbemi spotlighted the broader implications of the recent declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying he would not mind advising the President to do the same in any other state spiralling out of control.
“If it happens again, I will encourage Mr President to do the same, maybe this time with even greater vigour and vitality. The question of separating or treating or giving preferential treatment to anybody does not arise.
“If you give preferential treatment to anybody, you are giving preferential treatment to hooliganism. Just call a spade a spade. This is where I believe that we should put up our patriotism cap. It shouldn’t be about individuals. It should not be about anybody. It should be about the entity called Nigeria, but in this case, it is Rivers State.
“So, it is the Rivers State’s turn today; it can be anybody’s turn tomorrow. Let the signal be clearly sent for those who want to foment trouble, who want to make the practice of democracy and enjoyment of democracy a mirage, to think twice.”
Fagbemi explained that the President’s intervention was unavoidable given the constitutional breaches in Rivers, including the demolition of the state House of Assembly and Governor Sim Fubara’s failure to deter militants from vandalising oil pipelines.
“The action of the President is the effect of a fundamental cause, and you cannot be treating the effect in order to cure the cause. What was the cause? The governor and members of the House of Assembly.
So you have to behave responsibly, and you must have the guts,” he stated.
Fagbemi recalled that the Supreme Court had made “very profound findings of breaches of the Constitution,” noting especially that the court described the Rivers governor as having acted “like a despot,” effectively leaving the state with “no government.”
He explained that Tinubu had explored multiple avenues with other well-meaning Nigerians and thought leaders to resolve the crisis in Rivers before resorting to a state of emergency.
“Don’t forget, the whole thing started or crystallised with the judgment of the Supreme Court that was handed down on February 20, 2025, in which the Supreme Court, that’s the highest court in the land, made a categorical pronouncement after making very profound findings of breaches of the Constitution by the parties involved, particularly the Governor of Rivers state, concluded that he was acting like a despot and that, as the situation is in Rivers state, there is no Government.
“These are very serious and witty allegations that only an irresponsible head of state or leader will fold its arm and ignore,” the nation’s counsel argued.
The Rivers State political turmoil stemmed from a power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Matters escalated after Fubara demolished the state’s House of Assembly complex in December 2023, leading to a prolonged battle over the legitimacy of the legislative arm.
The crisis deepened when 27 lawmakers, loyal to Wike, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, prompting legal disputes over their status.
On February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the lawmakers remained valid members of the Assembly, faulting Fubara’s actions as unconstitutional and tantamount to despotism.
The judgment noted that Rivers State had effectively collapsed into one-man rule due to the absence of a functioning legislature.
Despite the ruling, governance remained stalled, with the Assembly and executive failing to cooperate.
On Monday night, an explosion rocked a section of the Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo Community in Gonna Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The blast occurred near the Bodo-Bonny Road, which was under construction.
Another explosion occurred on Tuesday at a pipeline manifold in the Omwawriwa axis of the Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area of the State.
Citing fresh security reports, Tinubu expressed concern over the recent vandalisation of oil pipelines by militants, allegedly acting in support of Fubara.
Therefore, he declared a state of emergency, suspending Governor Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for six months.
The AGF further argued that the President’s decision effectively saved Fubara from losing his seat.
Fagbemi stated, “Don’t forget, I think yesterday (Tuesday), there was a notice of impeachment from the House of Assembly. If that impeachment had been allowed to take its full course, then the governor would have lost entirely and completely.
“So, in a way, if you say it’s a compromise, I will agree that instead of allowing the impeachment process to continue, and which, in the end, would have seen both the governor and the deputy governor out of office and would have been out for the entirety of the four-year term with the remainder of what it we have.
“We are one year, I think, about nine months now, leaving a balance of two years and three months. So, if normalcy returns, Fubara Sim may come in. But for now, well, maybe it’s a compromise. I will agree.”
The AGF alleged that the now-suspended governor tele-guided militants to blow up pipelines in the state.
He said although the governor was not directly culpable, he failed to dissuade the militants from vandalising the oil pipelines.
“There were what I will call telegraphing of the militants, I will say, by the governor. And I say so because, when he began, he said, oh, he will let them know when it was time to act.
“Let us say it was false. Did he come out to disown them? The answer is no. And a week later, they swung into action. You saw or witnessed the vandalisation of oil pipelines,” he explained.
Fagbemi argued that with the nation almost reliant on crude oil, anyone “touching” the pipeline is not only an enemy of Rivers but Nigeria.
“Don’t forget that before now, Nigeria was producing about 900,000 barrels of crude oil per day. With the efforts of the President, he ensured that the production rose to about 1.15 million litres of barrels per day. That’s about a 45 per cent increase. Governors were smiling home at the end of the month with about a 60 per cent increase in their take home to various states.
“Extraordinary situation has arisen in Rivers State. When the administrator comes, he may request for these funds, and to me, it will be in order for the release of that fund, because the extraordinary situation has brought them out of the normal situation of things,” he stated.
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