A Federal High Court in Abuja, on Friday, reserved judgment in a suit filed by the Rivers House of Assembly, led by Mr. Martin Amaewhule, which seeks to stop all allocations to the state.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned the judgment to a date to be communicated to parties after lawyers for both plaintiffs and defense adopted their processes and presented arguments for and against the suit.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Justice Abdulmalik had previously dismissed all objections raised by the Rivers government against proceeding with the suit’s hearing.
The judge rejected the applications from the state government and other defendants seeking to stay proceedings until the Court of Appeal hears their appeal. She deemed the request “frivolous, vexatious, unwarranted, and mischievous.”
The Rivers House of Assembly and Mr. Amaewhule, as the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs, had filed a suit against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and nine others, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24. Represented by lead counsel Joseph Daudu, SAN, the plaintiffs listed the CBN, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) as 1st to 4th defendants, respectively.
Additional defendants include Rivers State officials such as Fubara, the Accountant-General of Rivers, and the Chief Judge of Rivers, Hon. Justice S.C. Amadi, among others. The plaintiffs sought an Interlocutory Injunction to prevent the CBN, commercial banks, and the AGF from processing any financial instructions issued by Fubara concerning the state’s funds.
The case saw further contention when a notice of change of counsel was filed by the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Mr. Oko Jumbo, loyal to Gov. Fubara, asserting that Amaewhule was not the lawful speaker following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Oko Jumbo-led assembly contested Amaewhule’s authority to file the suit and subsequently changed its counsel.
Justice Abdulmalik dismissed the application for change of counsel, along with other requests for adjournment and motions by defense lawyers, including Femi Falana, SAN, who requested more time to respond due to the late delivery of documents. The judge also rejected a motion by Jumbo to join as a co-plaintiff, agreeing with the plaintiffs that Jumbo was not a necessary party.
NAN reports that Justice Emeka Nwite of a sister court had earlier declined the plaintiffs’ ex-parte motion during the court’s vacation, requiring all defendants to be notified instead. The case was later reassigned to Justice Abdulmalik after the court’s vacation ended.
The Rivers government attempted to transfer the case out of Abuja, an effort dismissed by the court, leading the government to seek intervention from the Court of Appeal with an appeal marked: CA/ABJ/CV/1197/2024, and a motion to stay proceedings pending the appeal’s outcome.
