“Not Overtaken By Events” — Adegboruwa SAN Insists Pending Suits On Rivers Crisis Deserve Definitive Court Rulings

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun Adegboruwa, has called on President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to provide full transparency on the management of the state’s resources under the outgoing Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd).

In an exclusive interview on Channels Television’s Morning Brief aired today, Adegboruwa emphasized the need for accountability, describing Rivers as “one of the richest states in Nigeria.” He questioned how Ibas, who acted as the sole authority for six months, handled the state’s finances amid ongoing protests by unpaid retirees and claims of savings totaling ₦5 billion.

Adegboruwa insisted that under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution, which governed the emergency period, Tinubu, the Federal Executive Council, and the National Assembly tasked with oversight must render a comprehensive report to Nigerians. “What is his report? What did he do with the resources? What is the state of the handover?” he asked, adding that citizens deserve details on revenues received, expenditures incurred, and decisions taken by Ibas.

“You can’t just be talking to people extraneously. There must be facts,” Adegboruwa stated, referencing the Sole Administrator’s recent assertion of prudent management. “How much was received during this period and what was it used for? What were the powers and the nature of those powers exercised by the sole administrator?”

He highlighted the controversy surrounding the emergency declaration, imposed on March 18, 2025, amid political infighting between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and pro-Wike lawmakers, which led to the suspension of Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and the 32-member State House of Assembly. Tinubu appointed Ibas, a retired Chief of Naval Staff, to stabilize the oil-rich Niger Delta state, a move unanimously approved by the National Assembly.

President Tinubu announced the end of the emergency rule in a statement on September 17, 2025, praising stakeholders for their cooperation and noting “robust readiness” for democratic resumption. Governor Fubara, his deputy, and assembly members are set to resume duties immediately.

Adegboruwa also urged the judiciary to expedite and determine over 40 pending cases related to the crisis, including suits filed by PDP governors, SERAP, human rights groups, and civil society organizations at the Supreme Court and Federal High Court. He rejected claims that these suits are “academic” or “overtaken by events,” arguing they seek vital declarations on the legality of the president’s actions.

“Those cases should be determined… to guide our actions in future,” he said. “The reason we have the judiciary is that when parties have disputes—between government, between individuals there must be some definitive pronouncement from the third arm of government to achieve peace and stability.”

He specifically called for interpretation of Section 305’s “consequential powers,” questioning whether the president can suspend elected officials like a governor without explicit constitutional safeguards. “The people exercised their mandate to elect Governor Fubara and members of the House of Assembly. It’s a sacred mandate that should be preserved at all costs,” Adegboruwa asserted. “If there’s a reason for a single individual such as the president to interfere with that mandate, the circumstances should be spelled out within the constitution.”

Responding to host Bala Abdullahi’s pointed question on whether the judiciary under the current administration is “more political than legal,” Adegboruwa described it as a “matter of perception” that shapes reality. Drawing from over 30 years of litigating political and human rights cases, he maintained that he has not encountered outright bias or corruption in the courts.

“I cannot say wholeheartedly that the judiciary is political, biased, or corrupt,” he said. “But the perception of the public in terms of how these cases are managed is important.” He cited the failure to accelerate suits during Ibas’s tenure as a missed opportunity but urged the courts to now proceed with determinations to avoid perceptions of deliberate delays.

“This is not to say the judiciary is political or biased one way or the other,” Adegboruwa added. “When disputes arise… everybody is expecting the judiciary to give a definitive pronouncement that will guide people so that nobody will have an excuse to take the laws into their own hands.”