Renowned human rights advocate and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has delivered a scathing rebuke over the controversial presence of Rivers State’s Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting held on Thursday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Falana, while speaking as Chairman at the 70th Birthday Lecture of Dr. Osagie Obayuwana, minced no words in condemning the move, labeling it “a grave violation” of Nigeria’s Constitution.
Citing the legal foundation of the NEC, Falana reminded the nation that the Council’s composition is clearly outlined: the Vice President as Chairman, all State Governors, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria — with no provision whatsoever for any “sole administrator.”
“A Sole Administrator is not a member of the NEC. Whoever invited Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas to that meeting committed a fundamental breach of the Constitution,” Falana thundered.
He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently warn Ibas against further constitutional infractions, stressing that the fabric of the law must not be torn under any guise of emergency administration.
IBAS’ CLAIM OF ‘SWEEPING POWERS’ DISMISSED AS ILLEGAL
Turning to the embattled administrator’s own declarations, Falana slammed Ibas’s assertion — made through his Senior Special Adviser, Hector Igbikiowubo — that he was endowed with “sweeping powers” under the emergency gazette.
Falana categorically refuted the claim, stating: “The gazette does not grant sweeping powers to the Sole Administrator. It merely allows governance based on Regulations issued by the President. Since no such Regulation has been issued, every act undertaken by the Sole Administrator is ultra vires, illegal, null, and void.”
In an emphatic call for constitutional fidelity, Falana demanded the immediate termination of Ibas’s appointment, warning that continued illegality would plunge Rivers State further into political and legal chaos.
FALANA SLAMS NIGER STATE’S DREADLOCK CRACKDOWN
The fiery human rights lawyer also turned his sights on Niger State Governor Umaru Bago’s controversial executive order mandating the arrest and forcible shaving of citizens wearing dreadlocks — a move the Governor claims is part of an anti-gang operation.
Falana dismissed the order as “unlawful and unconstitutional,” arguing that “an Executive Order cannot create criminal offences unknown to existing laws.”
Backing his position with legal precedent, Falana referenced the landmark Court of Appeal decision in FAITH OKAFOR V. GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE & ANOR. (2016), where the court unanimously held that a citizen cannot be prosecuted based solely on a governor’s directive.
“In Nigeria, no one can be arrested or prosecuted for violating a mere directive. Only offences clearly established in written law can attract criminal liability,” he stressed.
A RALLYING CRY FOR RULE OF LAW
Throughout his powerful address, Falana delivered a fierce rallying cry for the defense of constitutionalism, warning against the creeping normalization of executive lawlessness across Nigeria’s states.
With his unrelenting spotlight on the excesses in Rivers and Niger States, Falana once again positioned himself as a formidable guardian of democratic values — a voice reminding the nation that in a true democracy, the law must reign supreme over power.
