Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has commended the judgement of the Court of Appeal that overturned orders restraining the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant-General of the Federation from releasing statutory allocations to the Rivers State government.
He described the decision as a victory for federalism as enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution.
Falana made this statement during an interview on Politics Today aired by Channels Television on Friday. He also applauded a previous judgement by the same court validating the recent local government elections conducted in Rivers State.
“The decision of the Court of Appeal which validated the local government election conducted by the Rivers State Electoral Commission and the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered today which has set aside the decision that the statutory allocation of Rivers State be seized—these two decisions are in line with the tenets of federalism outlined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Falana stated.
He further explained that the Federal High Court lacked the jurisdiction to handle cases relating to internal matters of a state, despite the inclusion of federal agencies or officers in such cases.
“The Court of Appeal is saying that the fact that you joined federal agencies or federal officers to a case that has to do with the revenue or local government election, or internal affairs of a state government cannot confer jurisdiction on the Federal High Court,” he said.
Falana expressed confidence that these rulings would strengthen Nigeria’s federal structure. “I am convinced that both decisions delivered by the Court of Appeal will go a long way to reinforce the basic tenets of federalism in this country,” he added.
The senior lawyer insisted that the issues in the cases were matters strictly for State High Courts, not Federal High Courts.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, presided over by Justice Hamman Barka, on Friday ruled that the Federal High Court lacked the authority to adjudicate on issues involving the revenue of Rivers State. The appellate court upheld the Rivers State government’s appeal, setting aside the orders made by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court.
The earlier orders had restricted the Rivers State government from accessing its statutory allocations from the consolidated revenue fund. Justice Barka ruled that the Federal High Court had overreached itself, declaring the orders unconstitutional.
The appellate court’s decision clarified that the internal affairs of a state, including matters of revenue and local government elections, must be handled within the jurisdiction of state courts.
