The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, on Wednesday declared that the now-suspended Governor of Rivers State, Mr Siminalayi Fubara is the enemy of Nigeria, saying he tele-guided militants to blow up pipelines in the state.
Speaking on Wednesday while defending President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency, Fagbemi claimed that while Fubara was not directly responsible, he failed to deter the militants.
“We are in a democracy. There were what I will call telegraphing of the militants, I will say, by the governor. And the reason I say so is, when he began, he said oh, he will let them know when it was time to act.
“Let us say it was false. Did he come out to disown them? The answer is no. And a week later, they swung into action. You saw or witnessed the vandalisation of oil pipelines.”
Fagbemi argued that since Nigeria heavily relies on crude oil, anyone attacking pipelines is not just an enemy of Rivers State but the entire nation.
He also defended the suspension of Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly members, saying they failed to maintain a stable governance environment.
President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers on Tuesday, citing prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats. The proclamation led to the suspension of Governor Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the State House of Assembly for six months.
To restore order, Tinubu appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd.), a former Chief of Naval Staff (2015–2021), as the sole administrator of the state.
The crisis in Rivers stems from a fierce power struggle between Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Tensions escalated in December 2023 when Fubara demolished the state’s House of Assembly complex, triggering a constitutional battle over the legislature’s legitimacy.
Further complicating the situation, 27 lawmakers, loyal to Wike, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), sparking legal disputes over their status.
On February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the defected lawmakers remained legitimate Assembly members, condemning Fubara’s actions as unconstitutional and likening them to authoritarian rule.
Despite the ruling, governance in Rivers remained stalled, with the Assembly and executive locked in conflict. As of March 2025, the state’s annual Appropriation Bill had yet to be passed.
On Monday night, an explosion rocked a section of the Trans Niger Pipeline in Bodo Community, Gokana Local Government Area.
Another explosion followed on Tuesday at a pipeline manifold in Omwawriwa, Ogba-Egbema-Ndoni Local Government Area.
Citing fresh security reports, President Tinubu expressed concern that militants, allegedly supporting Fubara, were behind the recent acts of pipeline vandalism.
