NIGERIA’S apex court, the Supreme Court, is facing backlash for delaying to hear the Rivers State emergency case six months after it was filed. Netizens say the situation shows the nation’s judiciary is being manipulated by politicians.

Economy Post boldly reported that President Bola Tinubu illegally declared a state of emergency on Rivers on March 18 after lampooning former President Goodluck Jonathan for doing the same thing in 2013, showing Nigerians that he is not afterall any different.

He illegally removed Governor Sim Fubara and his deputy, Ms Ngozi Odu, as well as democratically-elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

But 11 governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) approached the Supreme Court challenging the powers of President Tinubu to suspend a democratically-elected governor and his deputy. The suit also challenged the declaration of a state of emergency rule in Rivers State.

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However, the matter has not been heard as of the time of writing. This is despite that the emergency rule imposed on Rivers State by Nigeria’s president has expired and the governor is billed to return to his office. Hence, even if the apex court declares the emergency rule unconstitutional, the verdict will become a mere textbook judgment.

Governor Fubara, who was yet to resume work as of 10.44am on Friday, September 19, fought with his godfather, Mr Nyesom Wike, over who controls what in the state. Mr Tinubu sided with Mr Wike, who is his Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), on the matter.

A teacher of law, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, is bemused by the whole issue, drawing a parallel between the Rivers State matter and two other cases in which the ruling class is directly involved.

“Suit No SC/CV/162/2023 on currency change was decided 3 Mar 2023 by @SupremeCourtNg. It took 30 days. Suit No SC/CV/343/2024, the LG Autonomy case, decided 11 July 2024, took 45 days to judgment, Suit No SC/CV/329/2025 on Rivers State Emergency has not bn heard after 6 months+,” he posted on his X on September 19.

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He added, “The refusal of @SupremeCourtNg to even attempt to schedule a hearing of the original jurisdiction case on #EmergencyRule in Rivers State is not an omission. It’s itself a decision, which will go down in infamy in the annals of judicial politics in #Nigeria.”

In response to Prof Odinkalu’s post, an X user, @DailyJusticeAct, wrote: “Nigeria does not currently have a functioning Supreme Court; instead, it has a group of legal operatives with a history of injustice, available for hire by a dishonest & corrupt executive for hatchet jobs & judicial overreach..”

Sim Fubara and Nyesom Wike

In his contribution, an X user and lawyer, @FUROJAY, wrote: “Law deals with precedent. @SupremeCourtNg has set a precedent which the NJC should take judicial notice of. A Judicial officer relying on this precedent should not be sanctioned for ignoring in eternity a case properly before him.”

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A child rights advocate, Dr John Ogbole, @ogbolejohn_phd, directed a question at Prof Odinkalu: “Good morning Prof. In a democratic system, apart from court verdict, what other ways are legally available to the supreme court to resolve alleged constitutional breaches? I want to know if the SC may have chosen other alternative(s) in resolving this Rivers case.”

Yet another X user, @ONkpoka went philosophical in his view: “In God’s universal plan, everyone, everything serves a purpose. Nothing or no one is worthless. Sociologists hold that at least one can serve a bad example. The Supreme Court of Nigeria is undoubtedly serving a bad example. Unfortunately for the crop of Justices that occupy spaces therein , the Social Media has revolutionized journalism, it is no longer a controlled system per se . Thank God that as it stands today , everyone will be alive reading his or her history in Nigeria.”

However, one X user did not agree with Prof Odinkalu’s criticism of the apex court. @holubante wrote: “Prof, in brief, kinly educate us on Obasanjo state of emergency declaratn in plateau state under Gov Dariye nd SC stand until the case was decided nd secondly, is SC stand on Gov Dariye s case related to SC current silence or positn on Gov Fubara case.”