Senior legal practitioners across Nigeria on Wednesday condemned the appointment of Sole Administrators to oversee Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Rivers State, describing the move as illegal and contemptuous.
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In separate interviews, they criticized Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, for making the appointments despite a subsisting court injunction barring such actions. The lawyers argued that the move not only defied the court but also constituted a punishable offence.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Mohammed Abeny, expressed outrage, stating, “The action of the Sole Administrator of Rivers State is illegal, just like his appointment. Besides willfully flouting a court order, he has also disregarded the Supreme Court’s judgments declaring the appointment of administrators for LGAs illegal and unconstitutional.”
He added, “Those who appointed him never meant well for this country or for the survival of constitutional democracy. We never witnessed such extreme lawlessness, not even during the military era.”
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Benjamin Umukoro, also condemned the development. He pointed out that the Supreme Court had unanimously ruled against the use of unelected officials to govern LGAs while granting financial autonomy to the 774 LGAs nationwide.
“It is ironic that this same administration of President Bola Tinubu filed the case at the Supreme Court. When the Edo State governor suspended elected LGA chairmen, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), promptly intervened to declare the act illegal. Yet he has remained silent over this brazen illegality in Rivers State,” Umukoro said.
He continued, “President Tinubu first released Rivers State’s withheld allocations to the Sole Administrator, against the Supreme Court’s order. Now, contrary to another court order, the Administrator has appointed officials across all LGAs. One illegality is breeding another.”
Umukoro called for contempt proceedings against Ibas, warning, “We are not under military rule where anything goes.”
Similarly, another lawyer, Mr. Emeribe Ugonna, stressed that anyone who disobeys a valid court order must face legal consequences.
“If there was a court order, and it was duly served, those who obtained it should initiate contempt proceedings. No one is above the law. If found guilty, he should be committed to prison to purge himself of the contempt,” Ugonna said.
He emphasized that the law must be enforced regardless of the individual’s status.
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