Renowned Nigerian human rights activist and former National Human Rights Commission chairman, Chidi Odinkalu, has fiercely criticized the Supreme Court for failing to hear a constitutional challenge to the state of emergency in Rivers State, describing the silence as a deliberate decision that will stain Nigeria’s judicial history.
In early Friday posts on X, Odinkalu, a Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CGoF), condemned the apex court’s refusal to hear Suit No. SC/CV/329/2025. The case, filed in April by 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-governed states, contests President Bola Tinubu’s March 18, 2025, emergency declaration, which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Odinkalu contrasted the prolonged inaction with the court’s past urgency, noting that the naira redesign case in 2023 was decided in just 30 days and the 2024 local government autonomy case in 45 days, while the Rivers emergency matter has lingered for over six months without a hearing.
The PDP governors argue that Tinubu’s move, which replaced elected leaders with retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as sole administrator, violates multiple constitutional provisions, including those on federalism, gubernatorial tenure, and limits on emergency powers. They warn that allowing such intervention threatens democracy in their own states.
The Federal Government, backed by former Attorney General Akin Olujinmi (SAN) and a team of senior lawyers, has asked the court to dismiss the suit as frivolous. The National Assembly has also demanded ₦1 billion in costs against the governors.
The emergency followed a deep political feud between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, which left Rivers governance paralyzed. Tinubu’s intervention was later defended as necessary to prevent chaos, though it fueled over 40 lawsuits across multiple courts.
The six-month emergency expired on September 17, after which Tinubu lifted the proclamation and reinstated Fubara, Odu, and the Assembly. He described the measure as painfully inevitable but effective in restoring order.
