Nigeria’s Attorney General, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, defends President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, citing security concerns and constitutional breaches.
Speaking at a press conference at the State House in Abuja on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Fagbemi explained that the emergency measure was necessary due to escalating political instability and threats to national security, particularly the vandalization of oil pipelines.
The declaration, announced on Tuesday, led to the suspension of Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy.
The entire State House of Assembly. Fagbemi emphasized that the President had made multiple attempts to intervene in the crisis before taking this step.
“The events in Rivers State started long ago, and the President tried to intervene many times,” Fagbemi said, adding that a Supreme Court ruling on February 28, 2025, had found Governor Fubara guilty of constitutional breaches and described his actions as despotic. The court also declared that “there is no government” in Rivers State, a conclusion Fagbemi called “very serious and very weighty.”
The crisis reportedly began in late 2023 when the governor allegedly demolished the State House of Assembly and continued to govern with only a small group of lawmakers.
Fagbemi noted that 14 months had passed without any effort to rebuild the legislative structure.
Addressing concerns over the legality of suspending elected officials, the Attorney General stated, “The President’s action is a response to a fundamental issue. The governor and members of the House of Assembly created the crisis.” He also suggested that the emergency declaration might be a compromise that prevented impeachment proceedings against Fubara, saying, “If normalcy returns, Fubara Sim may come back. But for now, it could be a compromise.”
Fagbemi dismissed speculation that FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State and a political adversary of Fubara, influenced the decision.
“Where do you put the Minister of FCT in this case?” he asked rhetorically.
The government has submitted the emergency declaration to the National Assembly, which must approve it by a two-thirds majority within 48 hours for it to remain in effect. Authorities are expected to appoint a sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs during the emergency period.
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