posted 12th March 2025
Nigerian Supreme Court’s Ruling on Rivers State Conflict Sparks Outrage: Rule of Law or Supreme Iniquity?
A contentious Supreme Court ruling in Nigeria has thrust the ongoing political feud in Rivers State into the spotlight, with critics branding it a "supreme iniquity" that undermines the rule of law. The dispute pits incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara against his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, in a bitter struggle for control of the oil-rich state.
The latest judgement has only deepened accusations of judicial corruption and falsehood. The Supreme Court’s decision, delivered recently, recognised the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Wike, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, as legitimate. It also halted federal allocations to Rivers State, ruling that Governor Fubara had failed to present the 2024 budget to a properly constituted Assembly. Prominent Nigerian legal scholar Professor Chidi Odinkalu has fiercely criticised the verdict, describing it as a "supreme iniquity" that echoes a historical pattern of judicial overreach in Rivers State, dating back to the colonial exile of King Jaja of Opobo in 1887.
Odinkalu argued that the court’s order was a "rogue" move, lacking reasoned justification and punishing the people of Rivers State for a political spat between elites. The conflict erupted after Wike, who handpicked Fubara as his successor in the 2023 election, fell out with him shortly after. In December 2023, 27 pro-Wike lawmakers, including Amaewhule, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), prompting Fubara to declare their seats vacant under constitutional provisions. The Supreme Court’s ruling, however, upheld the defectors’ legitimacy, a decision Odinkalu and others see as evidence of a corrupted judiciary bowing to political influence. "It is not the rule of law, it is the rule of falsehood, lies, and iniquity," one X user lamented, reflecting widespread public dismay.
President Tinubu, intervening in October 2024, had called for restraint and adherence to judicial processes, telling Punch on 7 October 2024, “Self-help has no place in a democratic system.” Yet, the Supreme Court’s latest move has led many to question whether justice is being served or subverted. Odinkalu has pointed to the court’s leadership, noting that Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun’s public association with Wike in October 2024 raised concerns about impartiality. “She chose the judges and constituted the panel,” he wrote, suggesting a judiciary compromised by political machinations.
The fallout is clear: a state crippled by infighting and a judiciary accused of enabling it. As of today, 12 March 2025, no official response from the Supreme Court has addressed the uproar, leaving Nigeria’s legal system under intense scrutiny. For now, the Rivers State saga underscores a troubling question: does this represent the rule of law, or a corrupt court’s descent into falsehood?
