The National Assembly has asked the Supreme Court to throw out a suit filed by 11 governors from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenging President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
In a preliminary objection dated April 22, 2025, the federal legislature described the suit as “frivolous and speculative,” arguing that it was procedurally flawed and lacked merit. It also asked the court to award ₦1 billion in costs against the governors.
President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, 2025, suspending Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and all members of the State House of Assembly for six months.
Rear Admiral Ibokette Ibas (retd.) was appointed as sole administrator, and the National Assembly ratified the decision through a voice vote.
In response, PDP governors from Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa filed suit SC/CV/329/2025 at the Supreme Court.
They asked the court to determine whether the President can legally suspend elected state officials and replace them with unelected appointees under the guise of a state of emergency.
They also argued that such actions violate the 1999 Constitution and principles of federalism.
Among their demands were a declaration that the President lacks the power to suspend governors or state assemblies, a nullification of the emergency proclamation published in Official Gazette No. 47 of 2025, and a perpetual injunction restraining such actions in the future.
However, the National Assembly argued that the Supreme Court has no jurisdiction over the case, especially against the legislature.
It stated that the governors failed to issue a mandatory three-month pre-action notice to the Clerk of the National Assembly as required by Section 21 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017.
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According to the objection, “A person who has a cause of action against a Legislative House shall serve a three-month’s notice to the office of the Clerk of the Legislative House disclosing the cause of action and reliefs sought.”
The Assembly also claimed the governors did not obtain resolutions from their respective State Houses of Assembly, another condition for invoking the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction under the 2002 Supreme Court (Original Jurisdiction) Act.
It said the suit was wrongly filed, lacked cause of action, and amounted to an abuse of court process. Since the alleged threats cited by the plaintiffs came from the Attorney-General and not the National Assembly, it insisted it had no business in the matter.
“In the suit, the Plaintiffs seek to use the court to curtail the manner in which the 2nd defendant votes or makes approval to ratify proclamations of State of Emergency declared pursuant to section 305 of the CFRN 1999,” the objection read.
The objection also said the suit attempts to dictate how the legislature should exercise its constitutional duties, especially its use of voice votes to approve emergency declarations.
Godswill Onyegbu, a legal officer in the National Assembly, swore to an affidavit supporting the objection.
He said the plaintiffs lacked locus standi and failed to demonstrate any specific injury suffered beyond what affected Rivers State.
“The plaintiffs did not obtain the required resolutions from the Houses of Assembly in their respective states to authorise the suit under the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction,” Onyegbu stated.
“There are no disputes involving questions of law or fact upon which the existence or extent of a legal right depends between the parties,” he added.
Onyegbu asked the court to dismiss the suit and grant ₦1 billion in costs against the governors “in the interest of justice.”