Ijaw Youth Council Drags Tinubu Government To ECOWAS Court Over Emergency Rule In Rivers State

A new dimension has emerged in the issue surrounding Rivers State's proclamation of a state of emergency.
This time, the Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court) in Abuja has brought the Nigerian government, which is led by President Bola Tinubu, before it.

The case was taken up by the petitioners in a suit that was marked ECW/CCJ/APP/18/25 and dated March 20, 2025.

The petitioners contend that the enthronement of a fully fledged democratic order in Rivers State depends critically on the court's judgment to set aside and/or invalidate the suspension of elected officials and the dismantling of democratic structures and institutions.

It was observed that the Nigerian government had illegally violated the democratic rights of the petitioners and the people of Rivers State, both individually and collectively, by imposing a state of emergency.

Harry Ibiso and eleven other people are the plaintiffs in this case.
They brought the lawsuit on behalf of the Ijaw Youth Council's Eastern Zone as well as themselves.

Additionally, they are requesting a court order nullifying all rulings, actions, policies, and instructions made or issued by the sole administrator, who was chosen by the respondent's president on March 18.

"The implication, therefore, is that the applicants and the people of Rivers State have lost their existence and dignity as human beings, having been deprived of leaders duly elected by them in the democratic space and politically emasculated by the loss of the values that accompany democratic governance," the applicants concluded.

The applicants further argued that "a state of emergency cannot be a guise or pretext for the usurpation of the executive functions of the governor or the exercise of the lawmaking powers of the legislature."

Recall that under the guise of the state's instability, President Bola Tinubu proclaimed a state of emergency in Rivers State.

He then fired all elected officials, including the state governor and deputy governor.

He claimed that the decision was required to guarantee the state's government would continue.

However, many have criticized his stance as being undemocratic and unfair.

He has also been under fire for not warning Nyesom Wike, his friend, of his part in the crisis's escalation.
Tinubu is still in power despite the flurry of criticism that has followed this decision. His advisers justify the action as a display of "leadership," while many call it a display of "dictatorship."

In the application filed under Articles III and IV of the supplemental protocol amending the ECOWAS Court's protocol, Article II of the court's protocol, and Article 33 of the court's rules, the applicants claimed that President Bola Tinubu, the respondent's elected political leader, lacked the authority to dismiss or suspend a state's elected governor.