Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim of the Supreme Court has stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant General of the Federation from further release of financial allocations to the Rivers State government with immediate effect.
The apex court which gave the order, added that the order shall remain in force until the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, halts all his illegal, unlawful, and unconstitutional activities.
Agim said ordered that no money shall be released to the state government until a lawful Appropriation Law is enacted under the Martin Amaewhule speakership.
Agim who delivered the judgment on Friday by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, also resinstated the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
A five-member panel of justices, led by Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, outlawed all actions Governor Fubara took, just as it also accused the governor demolishing the House of Assembly with impunity to prevent the 27 legislators from sitting and carrying out lawful activities.
Justice Agim further directed the Clerk and Deputy Clerk, who were unlawfully redeployed, to resume work alongside the House of Assembly staff.
According to the apex court, it was an aberration for Governor Fubara to operate with only four out of the 32 members of the House of Assembly members under the guise of baseless fears of impeachment.
The justices said Fubara, through his unlawful acts, collapsed the House of Assembly and used his immunity under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to carry out acts against the rule of law.
With this ruling, the Supreme Court has affirmed the judgments of both the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court in Abuja, which had declared the actions against the 27 House of Assembly members as unlawful and illegal.
A fine of N10 million was imposed on Fubara, to be paid to the House of Assembly and the 27 members who instituted the suit against him.
The court ordered that the receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January this year by Governor Siminalayi Fubara is a constitutional aberration that must not be allowed to continue.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court had last year ruled that the presentation of the 2024 budget by Fubara before a four-member Rivers House of Assembly was an affront to constitutional provisions.
Specifically, the judge said Fubara’s action in implementing an unlawful budget constituted gross violations of the 1999 Constitution, which he swore to protect.
The judge had therefore restrained the CBN, the Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank from allowing Fubara to access money from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.
