A legal practitioner, Liborous Oshoma, has cautioned that the Supreme Court’s forthcoming judgment on the constitutionality of the emergency rule imposed in Rivers State must not be reduced to a mere academic exercise, stressing that the people deserve both accountability and justice.
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The Rivers State House of Assembly recently announced plans to probe the expenditure of over ₦250 billion in federal allocations received during the six-month emergency administration of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd). Ibas was appointed by President Bola Tinubu after Governor Siminalayi Fubara was suspended from office in March.
Civil society groups have welcomed the probe, alleging lack of transparency and stalled projects despite huge inflows of funds. But Ibas dismissed the move, insisting the Assembly has no power to investigate his tenure since it did not appoint him.
Speaking on the matter, Oshoma noted that while the state legislature is empowered under Sections 120–122 and 128 of the 1999 Constitution to examine state finances, the peculiar circumstances of an emergency rule raise constitutional complications.
According to him, “The big question is whether the Rivers Assembly has the power to summon or probe the administrator, who was in essence acting as the president’s appointee during the emergency. Technically, that responsibility should fall to the National Assembly, since it was the federal legislature that assumed oversight powers under Section 11(4) when the state House of Assembly was unable to sit.”
He added that without clarity from the Supreme Court on whether Section 305 of the Constitution grants the president power to suspend an elected government, any probe risks being inconclusive.
“What the people of Rivers State want is not just a probe on paper,” Oshoma stressed. “They want accountability, they want consequences. If money was misappropriated, those responsible should face sanctions. Otherwise, this whole exercise will end up gathering dust like many past reports.”
The lawyer also warned that the Assembly’s action might be politically motivated, pointing out that the legislators had barely resumed when they began demanding commissioner nominations from Governor Fubara and immediately launched the probe.
He concluded by emphasizing that the Supreme Court’s intervention is urgent, not just for Rivers but for Nigeria’s constitutional stability. “This crisis has shown how vague the Constitution can be. Until the courts resolve the legality of removing an elected governor under emergency powers, Rivers people risk being caught in political ping-pong instead of receiving the accountability they deserve.”
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Explore Nigeria’s Constitutional System — 17 Chapters, 924 Pages Of Insight By Prof. Hagler Sunny Okorie
