The three-member panel set up by the Court of Appeal to handle political cases from Rivers State will begin sitting on Thursday, November 14.
The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, set up the panel in Abuja sequel to the escalating legal tussles stemming from a rift between Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Justice Onyekachi Otisi who heads the team with Justices Misitura Bokaji-Yusuf and James Abundaga serving as members will tackle cases that involve key political figures and factions within the state.
The panel will oversee all appeals related to the political crisis in Rivers. and streamline the resolution of these disputes.
The team will scrutinize the appeals filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly, alongside cases involving both the People’s Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress regarding the alleged defection of 27 lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja Nyesom Wike from the PDP to the APC.
Also to be heard by the new special panel is the case filed by the Rivers State Government against the Rivers State House of Assembly and others,
The feud has led to a surge of legal cases from the state, creating factions among political actors and resulting in conflicting judgments from courts of similar authority — an issue that has drawn criticism from both judiciary stakeholders and the public.
A separate panel of the court adjourned three appeals.
The presiding Justice Hamma Barka noted that “The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/1211m1/2024, is among the Rivers matters for which a special panel was constituted.”
Senior lawyer representing the appellant, Chief Paul Erokoro, told the court of plans to ensure that all respondents who had not yet been served would receive necessary documents before Thursday, adding that he has just received some filings from the respondents and needed time to prepare his response.
Counsel for the first and second respondents, Ferdinand Orbih (SAN) and Dr. Joshua Musa (SAN), representing additional respondents, accepted the adjournment request for November 14.
Two other cases—one by the Accountant General of Rivers State against the Rivers State House of Assembly and another by the Action Peoples Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission and others—were also adjourned to Thursday for hearing by the Otisi-led special panel.
The establishment of this panel aims to provide a clear and expedited resolution to the political disputes, marking a critical step toward restoring order amid Rivers State’s ongoing political upheaval.
