The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has defended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration on a state of emergency in Rivers State, saying it is timely and intended to prevent further collapse in the State.
Addressing State House Correspondents on the President’s Tuesday nationwide broadcast on the political crisis in Rivers State, the AGF clarified that the decision of the President was anchored on the decision of the supreme court on Rivers State
Emphasising that the nation’s critical economic lifeline had been subjected to criminal interference without adequate response from the State government responsible for protecting it, the AGF asserted, that the President’s proclamation of the state of emergency was justified and necessary.
“The President came out boldly yesterday to say, the situation cannot be allowed to continue, a situation in which the critical economic life of the nation, what is giving a lifeline to the nation to be, you know, criminally touched without any response from those who would ehm ordinarily be expected to do so, cannot continue.”
Further justifying the President’s action, the Minister of Justice, recalled the judgement of the Supreme Court on the Rivers political impasse, he said that the apex court revealed about 12 findings against the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara.
“But before then, don’t forget that the judgment of the Supreme Court had been widely reported and published in the papers. So the governor was, I mean, the President was not a party to it, so the question of trying to influence anything would not arise. The judgement of the Supreme Court revealed about 12 findings against Governor Fubara.
“And by virtue of certain provisions of the Constitution, everybody has a duty to ensure that judgment of the court is obeyed, particularly coming from the apex court in the land, there is no other person to appeal to.
“There is no other body to appeal to. It’s not subject to any further text of validity, as things are, we all have a duty, collectively and individually to ensure that we give maximum respect to the judgment of the Supreme Court.” The AGF added.
The Attorney General condemned Governor Fubara’s refusal to comply with Supreme Court directives, asserting that his actions undermined the constitutional balance of power and paralyzed governance.
“There was no effort to rebuild the House of Assembly. The government stands on the tripod, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary, you have made the functioning of government impossible. It is not enough for the legislative, for the executive, to say, we are spending money, even the money you want to spend must have been appropriated for by the House of Assembly.”
The Minister of Justice criticized the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara for enabling militant activities by failing to publicly denounce their actions.
He accused Fubara of indirectly supporting the militants, whose threats and destructive behaviours have exacerbated the political and security crises in Rivers State.
“There were what I will call telegraphing of the militants, I will say, by the governor. And the reason I said so was when he began to them that, oh, he will let them know when it was time to act to the militant, let us say it was wrong. Did he come out to disown them?
“The answer is no. And a week after, they swung into action, you see or witness vandalization of oil pipelines, Don’t also forget that before now, that is when this government came into office. Nigeria was producing about 900,000 litres of oil, barrel of oil a day with the efforts and all the ingenuity that the President had he ensured that the production rose to about 1,001.5 barrels per day.”
The Minister of Justice highlighted another justification for the President’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, outlining the failure of both the Governor and the House of Assembly to foster an environment conducive to delivering the benefits of democracy to the people.
Fagbemi said the inability to collaborate effectively has hindered governance and denied citizens access to essential democratic dividends, further increasing the political crisis in the state.
“The second one is the inability of those involved, both the House of Assembly and the governor, from being able to, you know, create an enabling environment for the people of Rivers to enjoy the dividends of democracy.”
The Minister identified the deteriorating security situation in Rivers State as the third reason for the President’s declaration of a state of emergency.
He emphasized that waiting any longer could have led to even more severe consequences adding that the President, acting as both Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, took decisive action to prevent further escalation.
The AGF dismissed claims of a hasty decision, stating that intervention was necessary to address the immediate and imminent danger to lives and property caused by ongoing violence and insecurity, which were well-documented in daily reports.
“Those who live there are living in fears. So there is certainly the need to come in. We have about two years into the administration of in the state, if you didn’t come in. Now, when do you think you should come in? Is it when everything has been destroyed? I don’t think so. I think the President has acted timelessly.
“He has given opportunity to all the people involved, the parties involved, to make amends, before then he has he had assembled them, he had tried to mediate. Some said he had no constitutional power after agreeing, and what they agreed to at the meeting was not implemented.
“The action of the president is like, you know the what happened is the effect of a fundamental cause, and you cannot be treating the cause the effect in order to cure the cause. What was the cause? The governor and members of the House of Assembly you have to behave responsibly, and you must have the gut. If it happens again, I will encourage Mr. President to do the same, maybe this time with even greater vigour and vitality.”
The Minister stated that anyone dissatisfied with President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State should direct their grievances to the National Assembly.
He emphasized that the Assembly is responsible for reviewing and either approving or rejecting the proclamation, as it requires a two-thirds majority to validate the President’s action.
Questioning the involvement of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the Minister of Justice asked whether the FCT Minister was responsible for ordering the demolition of the House of Assembly nor advising the governor not to present his budget to the legislature, or discouraging him from seeking legislative approval for commissioner nominees.
Fagbemi clarified that the Supreme Court’s findings did not implicate the FCT Minister in the entire matter.
“There are occasions when, especially when it comes to national use, we have to come out plainly. And sincerely. Where do you put the Minister of FCT in this case? Was he the one who asked for the demolition of the House of Assembly? Was he the one who said the the governor should not present his budget to the House of Assembly. Was he the one who advised the governor not to go through the House of Assembly for purposes of ratifying the commissioner nominees? I don’t know. Because if you want to look at a case, you look at the facts that have been presented, the Supreme Court made this critical findings. FCT minister did not feature, whatever the situation, assuming he featured, he would have featured, maybe on the side of the legislator.” The Minister added.
The Attorney-General therefore called for patriotism from all parties involved in the Rivers State political crisis stressing that priotising the entity Nigeria is most crucial.
Speaking on releasing funds to the newly appointed administrator of River State, the Minister of Justice said it would be inorder to release the funds for smooth running of the State.
“Extraordinary situation has arisen in River State when the administrator comes, he may request for this fund, and to me, it will be in order for the release of that fund, because the situation of extraordinary requires the event of extraordinary situation that has brought them out of the normal situation of things.” The AGF added.
It would be recalled that on Tuesday, March 18th 2025, in a nationwide broadcast, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State.
The President invoked the provision of section 305 of the Constitution of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, saying the proclamation was to address the ongoing political crisis in River State, which “required extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.”
By the declaration, President Tinubu also declared the Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs Ngozi Odu and all elected members of the House of Assembly of Rivers State suspended for an initial period of six months.
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