Asari Dokubo, a former Niger Delta agitator and traditional leader, has expressed strong views on the current political state of affairs in Rivers State and questioned the recent Supreme Court decision.
Dokubo said the court had overreached its constitutional authority and denounced the ruling.
Although the Supreme Court is the highest court in the land, he contended that its decision regarding the case of Rivers State did not conform to Nigerian law.
The comments were delivered by Dokubo during Monday’s Morning Brief on Channels TV.
He expressed worries that the Supreme Court should not get involved in local government elections, saying that disputes of this nature should be resolved at the High Court.
A Supreme Court decision that suspended federal funding for Rivers State until the budget was properly presented and approved by the state assembly is what sparked the debate. Additionally, the court declared the October 2024 local government election to be void.
Dokubo addressed the matter, stating, “What is occurring in Rivers State is one individual attempting to pocket Rivers State.” Additionally, a number of pundits have examined the circumstances in Rivers State and urged President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to intervene and control the situation.
“I conducted a live broadcast on December 12, 2023. During our first actual meeting, there was a strong bias in favor of Nyesom Wike, the Federal Capital Territory Minister. The Supreme Court’s ruling has caused these live broadcasts to go viral in recent years.
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The Supreme Court’s statement has nothing to do with Nigerian law, so I won’t refer to it as a verdict. It’s an outright violation of Nigerian law. The Supreme Court is meant to be the ultimate arbitrator, as everyone is aware.
“What the Supreme Court says is final.” As a result, the Supreme Court must presume that since their rulings are final, they will impose morally reprehensible rulings that are obviously against the Nigerian constitution and the people. We’re not merely discussing Rivers State.
He questioned whether the Supreme Court could make decisions about elections for local governments:
For example, is it truly within the Supreme Court’s authority to rule on matters pertaining to elections for local governments? It’s quite obvious. The high court known as the court of first instance is where local government election adjudication concludes. So, from what source did the Supreme Court get its authority to rule on elections and post-election cases resulting from the Rivers State elections?
Dokubo also took issue with the court’s decisions on matters that weren’t initially before it.
The second question is: How would the Supreme Court discuss and rule on a case that wasn’t before it? Could the Supreme Court suddenly start importing cases that weren’t before it and begin rendering judgments on them? The Supreme Court did not hear the defection case. The top court continues to hear the defection case. How, then, did the Supreme Court obtain such cases so that it could render decisions on them? Apart from that, there were persons in the background telling the Supreme Court what to say.
That’s what they said. Additionally, he remarked, “I believe the governor accepted the ruling in a hurry.
