NIGERIA, PORT-HARCOURT – The leaders of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Eastern Zone, have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Government at the ECOWAS Court of Justice, challenging what they describe as the illegal suspension of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other elected officials.
They argue that President Bola Tinubu’s actions violate democratic principles and fundamental rights.
Led by Ibiso Harry, the youth leaders are also contesting Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
In their lawsuit, marked ECW/CCJ/APP/18/25, they urge the regional court to overturn the suspension of elected officials and reinstate democratic institutions dismantled following the emergency declaration.
Furthermore, they demand the court nullify all directives, policies, and decisions issued by the Sole Administrator, whom Tinubu appointed on March 18 to govern the state for six months.
The Applicants claim that the removal of Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly constitutes a direct assault on their fundamental rights.
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They insist that Tinubu’s actions have unlawfully stripped both the officials and the people of Rivers State of their democratic freedoms.
“The Defendant has unlawfully taken away the democratic rights of the Applicants and the people of Rivers State, both individually and collectively,” they stated in their court documents.
Naija News reports that the youth leaders argue the president’s decisions have plunged the state into unconstitutional rule, leaving its residents politically powerless and without their duly elected leaders.
Truth Live News gathered that they described Tinubu’s intervention as an outright attack on democracy, undermining Nigeria’s constitutional foundation.
By disrupting the democratic order in Rivers State, the Applicants assert, Tinubu has not only jeopardized governance within the state but has also threatened the credibility of Nigeria’s democratic system as a whole.
“The implication, therefore, is that the Applicants and the people of Rivers State have lost their dignity and existence as human beings, having been politically emasculated by the loss of the values that accompany democratic governance,” they argued.
They condemn the president’s actions as an attempt to exert absolute control over democratic institutions, warning that such moves set a dangerous precedent for the erosion of constitutional governance.
“A state of emergency cannot serve as a guise for usurping the executive functions of the Governor or overriding the legislative authority of the state,” they stressed.
The Applicants’ legal team, led by Chief Festus Ogwuche, has filed an affidavit supporting their claims. However, the court has yet to set a date for the hearing.