No lesson learnt from Rivers’ emergency rule – Lawyer, Oshoma

Legal practitioner Liborous Oshoma has criticized the handling of the political crisis in Rivers State, saying that political actors have failed to learn any lessons from the suspension of democratic governance in the state.

Oshoma made this remark on Wednesday during an appearance on Politics Today, a programme aired on Channels Television. His comments came shortly after President Bola Tinubu lifted the state of emergency imposed on Rivers.

“I don’t think the politicians have learnt anything,” Oshoma said. “Today, we see this happening in a PDP-controlled state because you have a former governor with one leg in the PDP and one leg in the APC. That makes it easier for interference.”

It will be recalled that on March 18, President Tinubu suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, citing political instability that had plagued the state since 2023. In their place, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd) was appointed as interim administrator for a six-month period.

The president had invoked Section 305(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), citing the collapse of governance and rising tensions within the state’s political structure.

However, the move drew widespread criticism from legal experts and political observers, many of whom argued that the declaration of emergency was unconstitutional and undermined democratic principles.

Oshoma echoed those concerns, stating that the removal of a democratically elected government, particularly one led by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), raised questions about fairness and impartiality.

“If this had happened in a core APC-controlled state, where the president’s influence is strongest, the reaction might have been different,” he argued.

He further noted that deploying security forces to maintain law and order could have been a sufficient response to the crisis — without dismantling an elected government.

“The president has the power to declare a state of emergency without sacking the government. Security agencies like the police, DSS, and military could have been mobilized to stabilize the situation,” Oshoma said.