The Federal High Court in Abuja has set April 10 as the date to hear a case asking for the removal of Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas as Sole Administrator of Rivers State.

The case, which lists President Bola Tinubu as the first defendant, has been assigned to Justice James Omotosho.

Other defendants include the Attorney-General of the Federation, Ibas and the Attorneys-General of all 36 states, making them the 2nd to 39th defendants.

The case is numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/572/2025.

The suit was filed by an Abuja-based lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi.

He is asking the court to cancel all actions and decisions taken by Ibas in his role as Sole Administrator.

He called these actions unconstitutional and without legal backing.

The lawyer wants the court to give a permanent order stopping President Tinubu or anyone under him from removing or interfering with the tenure of any state governor or deputy governor.

He also seeks a similar order stopping the President from appointing any Sole Administrator to lead a state in the country.

In his legal documents, filed through a team led by lawyer Chimezie Enuka, the plaintiff asked the court to decide, “Whether in view of the combined provisions of the entirety of Sections 1, 5(2), 180, 188, 189, 305 and 306 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended and their conflated interpretation, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria [1st Defendant herein] has any constitutional authority [whatsoever] to either remove, suspend or otherwise tamper with the tenure of the duly elected Governor and Deputy Governor of Rivers State [and indeed of any other State in Nigeria] and appoint a sole Administrator [or any other substitute howsoever called or described] such as the 3rd Defendant for that State?”

He asked the court to rule that, according to Section 305 of the Constitution, a governor or deputy governor can only be removed in the ways listed in Sections 180, 188, 189, and 306.


https://punchng.com/court-to-hear-suit-seeking-rivers-sole-administrator-removal-april-10/