The Supreme Court has dealt two deadly blows on Governor Siminalayi Fubara: sacking the 32 chairmen whose election his Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) presided over; and stopping monthly federation allocations to the state government.
The apex court on Friday declared as invalid, illegal, null, and void the local government election conducted in the state on October 5 last year. All seats were won by the All People’s Party (APP).
Earlier, the court in another matter before it, stopped Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from further releasing federation allocations to the government.
It said the order shall be in force until the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, stops all his illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional activities.
Specifically, the Court said that no money should be released to the state government until a lawful Appropriation Law is enacted by the full complement of the Rivers House of Assembly.
In the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, the Supreme Court also ordered the ostracised 27 members of the Rivers House of Assembly to resume legislative duties immediately.
The unanimous judgment of the 5-man panel of Justices led by Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji lambasted the Rivers government for engaging in criminal activity by demolishing the House of Assembly with impunity just to prevent 27 legislators in the House of Assembly from sitting to carry out their lawful activities.
Justice Agim ordered the the Clerk and Deputy Clerk, who were unlawfully redeployed out of the House of Assembly, must be allowed to resume work alongside other assembly workers.
The court held that it was aberration for Governor Fubara to operate with only four out of the 32 state lawmakers for fear that he would be impeached.
The Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, both in Abuja which had earlier declared the acts against the 27 state assemblymen as unlawful and illegal.
On the local government election, the court held that the election was invalid because all precedent conditions for the election to hold were jettisoned by Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
Specifically, Justice Jamilu Tukur, who delivered the lead verdict held that the council poll was conducted in gross violation of section 150 of the Electoral Act 2022.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday
September 30, 2024 stopped the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the purpose of conducting the October 5, 2024 local government elections.
The Court also barred the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the Department of the State Service (DSS) from providing security.
Justice Peter Lifu issued the order against INEC, while delivering judgment in a suit brought before him by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He held that the RSIEC was wrong in fixing the October 5 date for the conduct of the poll into the 23 local governments when all relevant laws guiding the election had not been complied with.
He held that the failure of the Rivers electoral body to do this violated the provision of the law guiding the conduct of local government election.
Justice Peter Lifu also held that the update and revision of the voters register ought to have been concluded before an election date could e fixed.
He, therefore, ordered INEC not to make the certified voters register available to RSIEC until the law has been fully complied with.
Justice Peter Lifu also barred RSIEC from accepting any voters register from INEC or using it for the purpose of the October 5 local governments poll.
