The chairman and members of the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, appointed by the suspended state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, have dragged the Sole Administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas, and others to court over their suspension.
The claimants, Reverend Goodlife Iduoku Ben, Amadi Christian Echele, Chimenim Wisdom Jerome and three others, are challenging what they described as their illegal removal by the sole administrator.
They contend that they were legally appointed and confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and that, before they were issued letters of appointment by the governor, records of their confirmation were with the Clerk of the House.
According to an affidavit signed by the suspended chairman, Ben, the claimants insist that the sole administrator lacks the legal power to suspend them and appoint a new chairman and members of the commission.
When the matter came up for hearing on Thursday, the legal team of the sole administrator, comprising about five Senior Advocates of Nigeria, filed their defence, along with a notice of preliminary objection, challenging the jurisdiction of the Rivers State High Court to hear and determine the matter.
They are also contending that, by the combined provisions of the Emergency Powers Act, 1961 and the Emergency Powers (Jurisdiction) Act, 1962, the proper court for such matters is the Federal Supreme Court, which they argued has since been modified by regulation of the President to what is now known as the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
The legal team of the state’s sole administrator also relied heavily on the aforementioned legislations to argue, in their defence of the substantive suit, that the administrator derives his powers to suspend and make appointments from those laws.
However, the claimants’ legal team, in their response, insisted that both the 1961 and 1962 Acts relied upon by the defence are obsolete, stating that under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN), those laws are considered spent and are clearly listed as such in the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004.
Presiding Judge, Justice Frank Onyiri, thereafter adjourned the case to the 17th of June, 2025, for the adoption of all processes.
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