The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has blamed the suspended Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, for failing to restrain militants from attacking oil facilities in the state.
Fagbemi made the allegation on Wednesday, while defending President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, on Tuesday night .
Although Fagbemi stated that Gov. Fubara was not directly responsible for the attacks on oil facilities, he claimed the governor failed to dissuade the militants or publicly disown their actions.
“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,” Fagbemi said during a press briefing.
“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,” he added.
Fagbemi emphasized that Nigeria’s heavy reliance on crude oil makes pipeline vandalism a threat, not only to Rivers State but to the entire nation.
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He defended President Tinubu’s decision to suspend Gov. Fubara, the Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, and all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, citing their failure to ensure a conducive atmosphere for governance in the state.
President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday, citing prolonged political instability, constitutional breaches, and security threats as reasons for the extraordinary measure.
The declaration suspends Fubara, his deputy, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months.
As part of the directive, Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (rtd.), a former Chief of Naval Staff, has been appointed as the sole administrator to oversee the state’s affairs until normalcy is restored.
Ibas served as Chief of Naval Staff from 2015 to 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
