The Court of Appeal in Abuja has constituted a three-member committee to hear political cases in Rivers State. The sittings are set to begin on Thursday, November 14.
The move comes in the wake of an intensifying legal dispute resulting from a rift between Rivers State Governor Siminarai Hubara and his predecessor and current Minister of the Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The dispute has led to a flurry of cases from the state, creating factions among political actors and leading to contradictory rulings from courts with similar mandates. The issue has drawn criticism from both judicial officials and the public.
To streamline the resolution of these disputes, the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Donban Mensem, has appointed a special committee to oversee all appeals related to the Rivers political crisis.
The panel chaired by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, Justice Misitula Bokaji-Yusuf and Justice James Abundaga will hear cases involving key politicians and factions in the state.
The appeals to be heard include those from Governor Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly, as well as a case involving both the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress over the alleged defection of 27 Wike supporters from the PDP to the APC.
At a hearing on Monday, the court panel stayed three appeals that had sought to be heard by a new select committee, including one filed by the Rivers State government to the Rivers State House of Assembly, among others.
Chief Justice Hamma Baruka said, “The appeal marked CA/ABJ/PRE/ROA/CV/1211m1/2024 is one of the Rivers cases for which a select committee has been set up.”
Senior Advocate Paul Elokoro, representing the appellants, informed the court of plans to ensure that all unserved defendants receive the required documents by Thursday.
He also said they had just received some documents from the defendants and needed time to prepare their response.
The counsel for the first and second defendants, Mr. Ferdinand Obi (SAN) and Dr. Counsel for the other defendants, Mr Joshua Musa (SAN), agreed to the application for an adjournment until November 14th.
Two other cases – one by the Rivers State Accountant General against the Rivers State House of Assembly and the other by the Action People’s Party against the Independent National Electoral Commission and others – were also adjourned on Thursday for hearing by a special committee headed by Otisi.
The establishment of the body is aimed at bringing about a clear and speedy resolution of political disputes and marks an important step towards restoring order amid the ongoing political turmoil in Rivers State.