COURT ADJOURNS FARAH DAGOGO’S SUIT AGAINST TINUBU’S EMERGENCY RULE IN RIVERS
A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has postponed to May 26 the hearing of a constitutional challenge brought by former federal lawmaker Farah Dagogo against President Tinubu’s controversial emergency intervention in Rivers State. Dagogo is asking the court to declare Tinubu’s March 18 emergency proclamation, which suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, as illegal, unconstitutional, and an abuse of presidential authority.
According to the suit, Tinubu’s action — which also installed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd) as sole administrator — violated multiple provisions of the 1999 Constitution, particularly sections 305(1), (3), and (4), which govern when and how emergency rule can be declared. Dagogo’s legal team argues that the President lacks unilateral powers to suspend elected state officials and that only the National Assembly, upon due request and debate, can authorize such drastic measures.
So far, only Admiral Ibas has responded to the suit, while other high-profile defendants — including the President, the National Assembly leadership, the AGF, and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police — have failed to file responses. Justice Stephen Daylop-Pam warned all parties that the court would no longer tolerate further delays. Dagogo also drew a contrast between Rivers and states like Benue and Borno, where more serious violence and lawlessness have never triggered federal suspension of elected governors. He suggested the emergency rule was politically motivated and not in line with democratic norms.
