A judgement by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court Abuja yesterday stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State Government has been greeted with mixed reactions from Nigerians. Most of the reactions are criticisms, with a few commendations.

The High Court judgement followed the case instituted by the Martins Amaewhule-led faction Rivers House of Assembly against the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Zenith Bank, Access Bank PLC, Accountant-General of the Federation, Governor Fubara, Accountant-General of Rivers State, Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, S. C. Amadi (Chief Judge of Rivers), Hon. Justice Adolphus Enebeli (retired), (Chairman, Rivers SIEC) and the Government of Rivers State, as 1st to 10th defendants, respectively.

The suit argues that the Rivers state governor did not comply with the court order, which asked him to represent the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Granting the plaintiffs their prayers, the retrained apex bank, the accountant general of the federation, Zenith Bank, and Access Bank from allowing Fubara access to the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.

Although Fubara has said the judgement was the least of his worries, the state government has taken steps to appeal the High Court judgment which restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria from further releasing allocations from the federation account to the state.

The governor also blamed the peace pact he signed with the lawmakers before President Bola Tinubu as what gave the plaintiffs the advantage to get such judgement, claiming he was ambushed by the Amaewhule-led faction after he had withdrawn his case against them. He said he did not regret his disposition towards the peace and ceasefire in the political face-off in the state.

Political pundits have reacted to the court’s decision, with some describing it as inconsistent with the rule of law and the tenets of democracy. They also opined that the court judgement can escalate tension in the state among the supporters of the affected parties in the state.

In his reaction, former Vice President and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the general election last year, Atiku Abubakar said the judgement has the prospect of creating chaos in the state.

In a statement released by his media adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku cautioned the judiciary against “setting Rivers State on fire in the wake of the Wednesday judgement wherein a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to halt all payments to the state.”

The former vice president said despite the fact the matter was already in the Supreme Court, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik went on to issue another order, making it seem like a deliberate attempt to undermine the apex court.

He said, “Last week the Court of Appeal declared that the Rivers State budget was illegal because it was passed by an inchoate assembly. The court ordered Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the budget afresh.

“The Rivers State Government has already filed a notice of appeal so that the Supreme Court can hear the matter. However, some elements in the Bola Tinubu administration have procured a judgement intended to undermine the Supreme Court.

“Even before the judgement was delivered, legal luminary, Femi Falana (SAN) had alerted the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho of possible compromise after house gifts had been presented to judges in Abuja. Sadly, Falana’s warning was ignored.”

“Nigeria has descended into the theatre of the absurd since the Tinubu administration took office. Courts are playing a more ignoble role in fostering political crises within political parties and even in states. From the emirship tussle in Kano State to the Rivers imbroglio, where courts are going as far as preventing elections from holding, taking Nigeria back to the dark days of June 12, 1993, when polls were annulled.

“Sadly, under the leadership of those who claim to have fought for Nigeria’s democracy, the country is descending into chaos with conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction flying all over the place while judges are being induced in the name of empowerment and provision of houses.

“The result is that Nigerians are gradually losing confidence in an institution which prides itself as the last hope of the common man. Foreign investors will avoid any place where judgments can be bought by the highest bidder”, he said.

Also in his reaction to the decision, Ikenga Ugochinyere, an honourable representing Ideato Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and lawyer, condemned the judgement, describing the development as “judicial rascality and an invitation to anarchy”.

He further stated, “New development Judgement to seize Rivers State allocation, an unenforceable height of judicial rascality, an invitation to anarchy, Judgment appealed already. Opposition Lawmakers Coalition Nobody will stop Rivers Allocation, judgement Appealed, 2025 budget to be presented before the Oko Jumbo led House until all issues concerning the legitimacy of Pro Wike Sacked lawmakers are Resolved by the Supreme Court – Opposition Lawmakers Coalition”

Ugochinyere who is also the spokesperson of the coalition of the opposition lawmakers said the judge was aware of the political developments in the state, but still went ahead to give the judgement.

“How can a judge who knows very well that the decamped lawmakers have lost their seats still go ahead to order for the allocation to be seized in favour of those who have lost their seats while the issues are pending at different courts on whether they should be parading as lawmakers?

“You want to use the Federal High Court to undermine democracy and constitutional governance. The issue of legality of their decampment is still in court and you are rushing to order that budget be presented to them as who?”

In his tweet on X, Professor Chidi Odinkalu, a social critic of the judiciary and an international lawyer, reflected on the events of 20 years ago, when the Supreme Court ruled against the federal government’s position when President Bola Tinubu was the governor of Lagos State and the Olusegun Obasanjo administration withheld state allocation. He then wondered why the High Court would give such a ruling despite the existing precedence, and called the decision a tyranny of the outlaw,

“20 yrs ago, while @officialABAT was governor of @followlasg, @SupremeCourtNg declined an application to withhold the #FederationAccount allocations of Lagos LGAs.Today, a judge of @FederalHigh overruled the Supreme Court. This is not #RuleOfLaw; it is the tyranny of the #Outlaw”

In the same light, the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) condemned the Federal High Court decision, warning that such judicial actions pose a significant threat to Nigeria’s democracy, economic stability, and public trust in the judiciary.

In a statement, CISLAC’s Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, stated that the development undermines the country’s democratic foundation, which sets a “dangerous precedent” in the country as it appears that some people are using the judiciary to serve their personal interests, thereby violating the rule of law.

Withholding state funding, according to Rafsanjani, compromises this autonomy and creates a “dangerous precedent” that might destabilise otherwise peaceful areas. In the past, positions in our judiciary were held with integrity, and reckless rulings were unthinkable. But recent events…suggest a troubling trend, where rulings risk eroding public trust, discouraging investment, and further challenging our judicial processes and systems.

“CISLAC urges the judiciary to hold firm to democratic values, ensuring decisions respect the constitution and reflect the will of Nigerians, safeguarding both state and national stability”, he said.

On the other hand, a coalition under the aegis of the National Democratic and Change Coalition (NDCC) expressed its satisfaction with the ruling and asked Governor Siminalayi Fubara to refund all monies spent without appropriation to the state coffers.

In its statement released by John Uloko Esq., the president of the coalition, described the coalition as a group of lawyers who have been monitoring the events going on in the state, he argued that the state is supposed to have 32 members of the house of assembly, but the governor decided to work with only four of them.

Commending the judgement by the High Court, the coalition said the development would teach Mr. Fubara lessons to always respect the constitution, stating that he has been operating an illegal state since the beginning of the year. The coalition further urged the governor to resubmit the budget as ordered by the court.

“This ruling is a victory for democracy and will teach rogue governors the bitter lesson that the Constitution of the Federal Republic must be respected and the sanctity of our democratic institutions upheld irrespective of their political desperation. Operating an illegal state assembly of four men by any governor is something everyone should condemn in totality and welcome the court’s judgment.

“In the wake of this judgment, NDCC urges Governor Fubara to immediately reverse all his decisions and actions based on the illegitimate Assembly since they all suffer the same defect as the budget the court threw out.

The Governor must also strongly consider refunding all the Rivers States’ funds illegally expended from January to date. “We further advise Governor Fubara to urgently do the needful by resubmitting the state’s budget to the legitimate Rivers State House of Assembly for due process to be followed so that governance is not truncated and the people plunged into more misery than they have already endured from the Governor being absorbed in his political saber-rattling.