A Rivers State Excessive Courtroom sitting in Port Harcourt has filed a swimsuit to restrain the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, from resubmitting the 2024 funds to the Martin Amaewhule-led legislatures.
The lawsuit filed in court docket by the lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency within the Home, Victor Jumbo and eight others below the auspices of Rivers Elders, seeks to declare the peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu unconstitutional.
The opposite claimants are Senator Bennett Birabi, Senator Andrew Uchendu, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, Admiral O. P Fingesi, Ann Kio-Briggs and Emmanuel Deinma.
The swimsuit additionally seeks to restrain the 27 lawmakers allegedly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, from parading and functioning as lawmakers based mostly on their defection from the Peoples Democratic Social gathering to the All Progressives Congress . Fubara from reappointing the 9 commissioners who resigned.
When the matter got here up on Tuesday for a proposal for a substitute for a few of the events who’re but to be referred to the trial, the presiding decide, Justice Chiwendu Nworgu, didn’t approve the request however issued a ruling declaring the jurisdiction to case to be dealt with decreased.
Nworgu quoted Justice James Omotosho of the Federal Excessive Courtroom, Abuja, who quashed the actions of the Edison Ehie-led faction of the Meeting, thereby quashing the swimsuit.
Talking to journalists exterior the courtroom, one of many plaintiff's attorneys, Emmanuel Rukari, expressed disappointment on the court docket's place. He stated the judgment means that the judiciary is just not the hope of the widespread man.
Rukari said: “In case you ask me as a lawyer about My Lord's ruling, it’s going to appear as if he has delved into issues for which the events will not be totally served.
“The one factor we got here to court docket for this morning is to ask for an ex parte order for substituted service, as a result of many of the events have been served, and for different events we’ve not been in a position to serve them.
“That’s the reason we got here to court docket for an ex parte utility to allow us to serve the remaining events, just for him (decide) to delve into the jurisdiction the place nobody on the opposite facet had entered to oppose or problem its jurisdiction.
“He has additionally continued to quote the Omotosho case, which was delivered inside every week. I don't know if there’s a Licensed True Copy to that impact that he checked out as a result of we waited over an hour for him to say it when he excused himself and went inside.
“So it's doubtless he known as all Tom, Dick and Harry to assist with what he wanted to say. It’s fairly embarrassing after I say that we’ve reached this degree the place the judiciary is not the hope of the widespread man.”
Persevering with, he stated, “However because it have been. We are going to promote justice. We return house and speak to our shoppers to see what their mindset is after which advise them appropriately, after which we all know what to do subsequent.
Final week, some elders in Rivers State filed an ex parte movement urging the court docket to restrain Fubara from resubmitting the 2024 funds to the Home of Representatives.
The governor had in December introduced a 2024 funds of N800 billion to a faction of the Meeting comprising 4 legislators.
After lawmakers handed the funds, Fubara then signed the funds into legislation.
In the meantime, the Rivers Meeting was divided following an try by 27 lawmakers loyal to ex-Governor Nyesom Wike to oust Fubara.
