The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has stopped the Federal Government from releasing further monthly allocations to Rivers State.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in her judgment specifically restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from allowing the state to draw funds from the consolidated revenue account.
Speaker of the Rivers State house of Assembly Martins Amaewhule and 26 members of the house had instituted the suit
The plaintiffs had approached the court, praying it to withhold all federal monthly allocations meant for Rivers state.
They predicated their case on the ground that Governor Fubara had yet to comply with the court order that directed him to represent the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
According to the plaintiffs, the high court had in a judgment that was delivered by Justice James Omotosho, recognised Mr Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
They noted that the court invalidated the 2024 budget proposal that was presented before the four-member faction of the Assembly, led by Victor Oko-Jumbo.
The Amaewhule-led members of the Rivers State Assembly added that the Court of Appeal upheld the high court decision that was in their favour.
They alleged that governor Fubara had continued to make unauthorized withdrawals from the consolidated revenue funds of Rivers state, in breach of section 120 of constitution
The defendants in the case were CBN, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF).
Others are Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Accountant-General of Rivers; Rivers Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC; Chief Judge of Rivers, Justice S.C. Amadi; Chairman of RSIEC, Justice Adolphus Enebeli (rtd.) and the Government of Rivers State.
