Breaking: Governor Fubara Accused of Guiding Militants to Attack Pipelines – AGF

Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, charged Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Wednesday with directing militants by teleconference to destroy vital national infrastructure in Rivers State.
According to reports, the AGF said this in order to defend President Bola Tinubu’s recent proclamation of a state of emergency in the state, which was based on the ongoing political instability.
According to Fagbemi, the governor might have unintentionally encouraged the attacks in addition to failing to take action against the extremists.

“We live in a democracy,” he claimed, “so there was what I will call telegraphing of the militants by the governor.” I mentioned that because he started out by saying, “Oh, he will let them know when it was time to act to the militants.”
Furthermore, the AGF asked if the governor had ever disassociated himself from the militants’ activities, asking, “Did he come out to disown them? The response is no. And they took immediate action a week later, as seen by the destruction of oil pipelines.

Fagbemi also underlined how crucial it is to safeguard the country’s oil infrastructure, pointing out that Nigeria is mostly dependent on oil earnings.

The seriousness of the attacks on such vital national resources was highlighted by Fagbemi’s statement that “anyone who touches the pipeline is not only an enemy of Rivers but also of Nigeria.”

The AGF said that President Tinubu’s move was legally justified by the Supreme Court’s ruling, which he connected to the declaration of state of emergency.

The suspension of Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly was required due to the political instability in the state, namely the governor’s and the legislature’s incapacity to create a stable environment for government, according to Fagbemi.

Fagbemi responded to those who criticized the president’s prompt action by refuting claims that the declaration of a state of emergency was hurriedly made.

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He added, “People were living in fear while others were dying,” and that the unique situation called for such an extreme response.

He further argued that the circumstances in Rivers State were distinct and necessitated prompt action, rejecting analogies to earlier instances in which the Supreme Court rendered decisions on comparable declarations of state of emergency.

Last but not least, the AGF proposed that Rivers State’s proclamation of a state of emergency also acted as a warning to other states.

He hinted that if comparable security issues and political unrest occurred elsewhere in the nation, the government might apply harsher penalties.