₦airaland Forum

sRivers crisis: Legislative lawyers ask Supreme Court to review judgement

The protracted political crisis in Rivers State took another twist on Thursday as the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, asked the Supreme Court to review its February 28, 2025, judgment that restored 27 members of the State Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule.


The Supreme Court, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, also ordered Governor Sim Fubara to re-present the state’s 2025 budget to the Amaewhule-led Assembly.

The apex court, in the same vein, stopped the payment of allocations from the Federation Account to the Rivers State Government. It ruled that funds would be released to Fubara’s government only when a lawful Appropriation Law is enacted by the Assembly led by Amaewhule.


The budget had earlier been passed into law after Fubara presented it to the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led three-man faction of the Assembly.

However, ALDRAP, an association of professional legislative lawyers, is asking the Supreme Court to review the judgment, which was seen by many as a final resolution of key issues involved in the Rivers political crisis.

The legislative lawyers made the request for a review of the judgment in a letter dated March 13, 2025, and addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN.


The letter was obtained by DAILY POST on Thursday.

According to the letter signed by ALDRAP’s lawyer, Kenneth Amadi, the request is based on the provisions of Order 8 Rule 16 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2024. Among other contentions, the lawyers argued that the February 28 Supreme Court judgment did not comply with previous apex court verdicts on similar cases.

The letter is titled “Application for Review by a Full Panel of Seven Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria of the Judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria Dated February 28, 2025, Delivered by Hon. Justice Emmanuel Agim, JSC, and a Panel of Five Justices, Pursuant to Order 8 Rule 16, Supreme Court Rules, 2024, and Other Relevant Laws as the Supreme Court Deems Appropriate.”


Parts of the letter read: “By way of introduction, my name is Kenneth A. Amadi, Esq. I am a legal practitioner and lawyer to the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), which is a professional association of lawyers in Nigeria with its national secretariat inside the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

“We write to request permission to submit an application on the above-named subject matter. This application for a review of the Supreme Court judgment of February 28, 2025, is made in accordance with the Supreme Court of Nigeria Rules, 2024, on the following grounds:

“A full panel of seven judges instead of the five judges that sat on the Rivers State House of Assembly case.


*”Failure of the panel of judges to follow and comply with the former judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, such as the case of Attorney-General of Bendel State v. Attorney-General of the Federation (1981).”

In an analysis of the verdict, the Executive Secretary of ALDRAP, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, faulted the Supreme Court judgment for failing to take note of the record of proceedings of the Rivers State House of Assembly concerning the defection of the 27 lawmakers.

Citing a court case, Hon. J. I. Ekpenkhio v. Hon. Matthew Egbadon (1962-2001)1 Legislative Law Reports of Nigeria (LLRN) pages 307 to 336, Jaja said: “The Supreme Court of Nigeria held that the Court has a duty to take judicial notice of the record of proceedings of the House of Assembly as stipulated under Section 73 of the Evidence Act.

“In accordance with the above-named judgment, it is reasonable to expect that the Supreme Court of Nigeria would consider the words and actions of Amaewhule and the 26 others on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly during the plenary session in December 2023.

“Ironically, the evidence of the defection of the said 27 lawmakers is contained in the Hansard of the Rivers State House of Assembly of December 11, 2023, when the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly read a letter of defection on behalf of the 27 lawmakers, including the Speaker. The Speaker then put it to a voice vote, and it was approved by all 27 lawmakers. This was then approved as a resolution of the Rivers State House of Assembly as passed on the 11th day of December 2023.”

Further faulting the judgment, Jaja argued: “There are so many absurdities that Hon. Justice Agim’s interpretation has created, such as the absurdity in his statement that only the offending legislature can declare that a defection has occurred.

“Additionally, Hon. Justice Agim’s interpretation has defeated the very purpose of Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, considering that, going by his interpretation, it is next to impossible for any lawmaker who is in violation of the said Section to be declared as having vacated his seat if such a declaration is to be made by the Speaker of such a legislature—when the Speaker himself is also one of the lawmakers that has defected, as was the case with the 27 lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“How on earth would any offender readily agree that he or she has committed the crime of defection, which would result in the automatic forfeiture of his or her seat in the legislature, along with the humongous sums of money that are paid as both salaries and allowances to such lawmakers?

“The judicial powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are vested in the judiciary for the sole purpose that the judiciary would perform the tasks of undertaking judicial review of the actions of the other two arms of government, namely the Executive and the Legislature. The purpose is to create checks and balances to avoid tyranny by one arm of government.

“Therefore, in the event that an application is made to the judiciary to determine whether the actions of some members of the legislature (in this case, the defection of the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly) are in violation of any section of the Nigerian Constitution, it is the judiciary alone that can adjudicate and make such a determination.

“The judiciary cannot shirk its responsibility to the legislature as Hon. Agim’s judgment has done in this case. It violates the very cardinal principle of justice and fair hearing to ask the legislature to sit as a judge in its own case to determine and declare whether a defection has occurred in violation of the said Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution.”






Lalasticlala mynd44 mukina2
https://dailypost.ng/2025/03/13/rivers-crisis-legislative-lawyers-ask-supreme-court-to-review-judgement/

Good one

robosky02:
sRivers crisis: Legislative lawyers ask Supreme Court to review judgement

The protracted political crisis in Rivers State took another twist on Thursday as the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, asked the Supreme Court to review its February 28, 2025, judgment that restored 27 members of the State Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule.


The Supreme Court, in the judgment delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, also ordered Governor Sim Fubara to re-present the state’s 2025 budget to the Amaewhule-led Assembly.

The apex court, in the same vein, stopped the payment of allocations from the Federation Account to the Rivers State Government. It ruled that funds would be released to Fubara’s government only when a lawful Appropriation Law is enacted by the Assembly led by Amaewhule.


The budget had earlier been passed into law after Fubara presented it to the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led three-man faction of the Assembly.

However, ALDRAP, an association of professional legislative lawyers, is asking the Supreme Court to review the judgment, which was seen by many as a final resolution of key issues involved in the Rivers political crisis.

The legislative lawyers made the request for a review of the judgment in a letter dated March 13, 2025, and addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN.


The letter was obtained by DAILY POST on Thursday.

According to the letter signed by ALDRAP’s lawyer, Kenneth Amadi, the request is based on the provisions of Order 8 Rule 16 of the Supreme Court Rules, 2024. Among other contentions, the lawyers argued that the February 28 Supreme Court judgment did not comply with previous apex court verdicts on similar cases.

The letter is titled “Application for Review by a Full Panel of Seven Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria of the Judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria Dated February 28, 2025, Delivered by Hon. Justice Emmanuel Agim, JSC, and a Panel of Five Justices, Pursuant to Order 8 Rule 16, Supreme Court Rules, 2024, and Other Relevant Laws as the Supreme Court Deems Appropriate.”


Parts of the letter read: “By way of introduction, my name is Kenneth A. Amadi, Esq. I am a legal practitioner and lawyer to the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), which is a professional association of lawyers in Nigeria with its national secretariat inside the National Assembly complex, Abuja.

“We write to request permission to submit an application on the above-named subject matter. This application for a review of the Supreme Court judgment of February 28, 2025, is made in accordance with the Supreme Court of Nigeria Rules, 2024, on the following grounds:

“A full panel of seven judges instead of the five judges that sat on the Rivers State House of Assembly case.


*”Failure of the panel of judges to follow and comply with the former judgments of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, such as the case of Attorney-General of Bendel State v. Attorney-General of the Federation (1981).”

In an analysis of the verdict, the Executive Secretary of ALDRAP, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, faulted the Supreme Court judgment for failing to take note of the record of proceedings of the Rivers State House of Assembly concerning the defection of the 27 lawmakers.

Citing a court case, Hon. J. I. Ekpenkhio v. Hon. Matthew Egbadon (1962-2001)1 Legislative Law Reports of Nigeria (LLRN) pages 307 to 336, Jaja said: “The Supreme Court of Nigeria held that the Court has a duty to take judicial notice of the record of proceedings of the House of Assembly as stipulated under Section 73 of the Evidence Act.

“In accordance with the above-named judgment, it is reasonable to expect that the Supreme Court of Nigeria would consider the words and actions of Amaewhule and the 26 others on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly during the plenary session in December 2023.

“Ironically, the evidence of the defection of the said 27 lawmakers is contained in the Hansard of the Rivers State House of Assembly of December 11, 2023, when the Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly read a letter of defection on behalf of the 27 lawmakers, including the Speaker. The Speaker then put it to a voice vote, and it was approved by all 27 lawmakers. This was then approved as a resolution of the Rivers State House of Assembly as passed on the 11th day of December 2023.”

Further faulting the judgment, Jaja argued: “There are so many absurdities that Hon. Justice Agim’s interpretation has created, such as the absurdity in his statement that only the offending legislature can declare that a defection has occurred.

“Additionally, Hon. Justice Agim’s interpretation has defeated the very purpose of Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, considering that, going by his interpretation, it is next to impossible for any lawmaker who is in violation of the said Section to be declared as having vacated his seat if such a declaration is to be made by the Speaker of such a legislature—when the Speaker himself is also one of the lawmakers that has defected, as was the case with the 27 lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“How on earth would any offender readily agree that he or she has committed the crime of defection, which would result in the automatic forfeiture of his or her seat in the legislature, along with the humongous sums of money that are paid as both salaries and allowances to such lawmakers?

“The judicial powers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are vested in the judiciary for the sole purpose that the judiciary would perform the tasks of undertaking judicial review of the actions of the other two arms of government, namely the Executive and the Legislature. The purpose is to create checks and balances to avoid tyranny by one arm of government.

“Therefore, in the event that an application is made to the judiciary to determine whether the actions of some members of the legislature (in this case, the defection of the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly) are in violation of any section of the Nigerian Constitution, it is the judiciary alone that can adjudicate and make such a determination.

“The judiciary cannot shirk its responsibility to the legislature as Hon. Agim’s judgment has done in this case. It violates the very cardinal principle of justice and fair hearing to ask the legislature to sit as a judge in its own case to determine and declare whether a defection has occurred in violation of the said Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution.”






Lalasticlala mynd44 mukina2
https://dailypost.ng/2025/03/13/rivers-crisis-legislative-lawyers-ask-supreme-court-to-review-judgement/

Every one knows wike gave judges properties that why he got the result.
One can't even argue that Wike wrote the judgment for them to pronounce you can sense that when he brags.

Will they listen? No! Tinubu has his eyes on the oil money. So, everything must go out of place for him to get it. Wike is only a tool.

Phone calls have started from one man like that in Abuja. He is going to go mute for sometime by reason of this letter, to see if it will scale through. The moment it doesn't scale through, he comes out again to start bragging .

The only solution for peace, is for Supreme Court to review that miscarriage of Justice

This is what you get when every organ of government is centred on greed.

DonBenny77:
Every one knows wike gave judges properties that why he got the result.
One can't even argue that Wike wrote the judgment for them to pronounce you can sense that when he brags.

The same way many of us knew how the court was forced to declare Obi the winner of the governorship election against Ngige

Unfortunately Supreme Court of Nigeria has been privatised by the Apc with Tinubu as the supreme judge

Paid judgment.

Everyone knows

Very strong point
Who pronounces the speakers seat vacant as a penalty for defection when the speaker as a member defects

Useless supreme court of injustice
The thief should arrest himself as penalty for stealing lol

All the justice's of the supreme court should be arrested for treason and felony.

They are trying to set river state ablaze for their own greed.

Wike must be expose

DonBenny77:
Every one knows wike gave judges properties that why he got the result.
One can't even argue that Wike wrote the judgment for them to pronounce you can sense that when he brags.

He made sure everything was settled in supreme court, so that nothing needs to be done in any other court.

Shame to wike forever

See all this ipob noise makers talking tr#sh as usual. U think politics is emotional, that is why it may be difficult for an igbo man to rule this country. The supreme court will give this noise. Makers heavy fine and there eyes will clear. Na this people put fubara in this mess.

Is politics not emotion and is not for the weak.

I am not trying to disrespect the office of Rivers state governor, but Gov Fubara is not smart all

First time of having privilege to be in higher political positions as a state governor which is a grace.

He got there somehow. Why not concentrate on delivering your campaign promises to the Rivers people instead of fighting unnecessary fight. The people should be the one fighting for you( not talking about physical)

How are other states current first time governor rocking the boat with their past governors that you can't learn from.

Whatever you might be claiming of doing in terms of projects and developments, you could have done more without the distractions

It's a sad case. Our judiciary has been badly compromised.

helinues:
I am not trying to disrespect the office of Rivers state governor, but Gov Fubara is not smart all

First time of having privilege to be in higher political positions as a state governor which is a grace.

He got there somehow. Why not concentrate on delivering your campaign promises to the Rivers people instead of fighting unnecessary fight. The people should be the one fighting for you( not talking about physical)

How are other states current first time governor rocking the boat with their past governors that you can't learn from.

Whatever you might be claiming of doing in terms of projects and developments, you could have done more without the distractions

How do you respond to the battle against your existence?

Mercisharelove:
How do you respond to the battle against your existence?

By concentrating on other important things

helinues:
By concentrating on other important things

When you are dead, how then do you concentrate on other things?

helinues:
I am not trying to disrespect the office of Rivers state governor, but Gov Fubara is not smart all

First time of having privilege to be in higher political positions as a state governor which is a grace.

He got there somehow. Why not concentrate on delivering your campaign promises to the Rivers people instead of fighting unnecessary fight. The people should be the one fighting for you( not talking about physical)

How are other states current first time governor rocking the boat with their past governors that you can't learn from.

Whatever you might be claiming of doing in terms of projects and developments, you could have done more without the distractions

U r not in Rivers state so keep mute about what you don't know.

If wike had handed over to his wife, he would still be fighting her just same way he is fighting fubara.

Wike does not live by peace .

He does not love peace .

That is his nature .

There must be something to fight

Better for them to review such a callous judgement

Never knew Apex court judgment can be review
Wow we learn everyday
Pls someone should educate me more