A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has scheduled May 12, 2025, for the substantive hearing of a lawsuit challenging the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The legal action was initiated by Farah Dagogo, a former National Assembly member and 2023 governorship aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State.
Due to challenges in serving the defendants directly, the court granted an application for substituted service and set a date for the main hearing.
The case, registered as FHC/PH/CS/50/2025, is before Justice Adamu Turaki Mohammed.
On April 9, 2025, Dagogo sought judicial intervention regarding the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the subsequent suspension of the state’s democratic institutions.
Those named in the suit include President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the Nigerian Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abass, and retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, who was appointed as the state’s sole administrator.
A motion ex parte filed a day earlier, on April 8, 2025, saw Dagogo’s legal team led by Chief C. I. Enweluzo, SAN, asking the court to allow substituted service for the originating summons and related processes, citing difficulty in reaching the respondents directly.
Justice Mohammed, after reviewing an affidavit sworn by Solomon Ayotamuno, a litigation assistant at Liberty Chambers, and hearing submissions from the plaintiff’s counsel—including Femi Adegbite, Monday Dayi, Daso Jack, and D. Bakweri—granted the request.
The court further ordered that a hearing notice be issued and the case be adjourned to May 12, 2025, for substantive deliberations.
In addition, the judge directed that all court documents be delivered to the defendants via DHL courier to their last known addresses.
The backdrop to the case is the decision by President Tinubu on March 18, 2025, to impose a state of emergency in Rivers State.
That action led to the six-month suspension of democratic governance in the state and the appointment of Vice Admiral Ibas as the sole administrator for an initial six-month tenure.
Dagogo formerly represented the Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives.
