Rivers State Of Emergency: Lawyers Protest, Demand Immediate Restoration Of Democratic Rule

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Legal practitioners under the aegis of “Lawyers in Defence of Democracy”, LDD, on Wednesday, April 30, 2025,  joined the growing list of street protesters agitating for the restoration of democratic order in Rivers State.

Following the declaration of a state of emergency in the State  by President Bola Tinubu, and the subsequent suspension of the Governor and other democratic institutions on March 18, 2025, several women and youth groups have taken to the streets in protests demanding, among other things,  the removal of retired Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, the Sole Administrator, as well as the restoration of democratic rule.

Led by its Country Director,  Barr. Uchechukwu Udeh Sylvester, the LDD declared the imposition of a State of emergency on Rivers, and the suspension of democratically elected institution, as an aberration which must not be allowed to fester.

In their letter of protest, the aggrieved lawyers urged President Donald Trump and all other democratic nations in the world to intervene, and stop the gradual and steady erosion of democratic principles in Nigeria.

According to LDD, the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy and the State House of Assembly Members is a brazen attempt to stifle democracy and undermine Constitutional order.

The Lawyers also berated the National Assembly for giving a stamp of approval to the orchestrated plot to undermine and truncate democracy in the  Country.

The Lawyers expressed serious concern that the National Assembly could gloat over the feelings of overwhelming majority of Nigerians, to approve the illegal contraption in Rivers State.

“In an era where democracy is supposed to reign supreme, giving democracy dividends to the masses, we have found ourselves at a crossroads, a sober moment of reckoning where constitutional order is being tested most brazenly.

“This could only happen during the days of military juntas, but we are not under the firm grip of a military dictatorship.

“At the moment, the country is being governed under a constitutional democracy that operates a presidential system of Government.

“President Bola Tinubu should not have taken the decision because democracy is a learning process, and the judiciary has demonstrated the capacity to resolve issues .

“The President should have allowed the various State organs to resolve the issues, the LDD noted.

The protesting Lawyers called on President Tinubu to immediately reverse the emergency rule and allow  elected officials to discharge their mandates to the people.