A high-profile legal battle is brewing at the Supreme Court, as 11 PDP governors challenge President Bola Tinubu’s authority to declare emergency rule in Rivers State and suspend the existing government structure.
On Wednesday, a Justice Ministry source revealed that the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has officially received the suit, which was filed on Tuesday.
The action, marked SC/CV/329/2025, seeks a constitutional interpretation of the President’s decision to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and the State Assembly.
The governors from Bayelsa, Zamfara, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Taraba, and six other states contend that Tinubu’s move to appoint retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as Sole Administrator is unconstitutional.
They are seeking judicial clarity on whether such an appointment under the guise of emergency rule is legally defensible.
Citing key provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the suit questions whether the President has the authority to displace elected officials and dissolve state legislative arms under a federal structure.
The governors argue that the declaration—and the threat it poses to elected offices across the country—breaches Sections 4(6), 5(2), and 11(2 & 3) of the Constitution, thereby eroding the core of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
The Federal Government is expected to file its response in the coming days, as legal observers watch closely for what could become a precedent-setting judgment on executive power in Nigeria’s federation.