Falana Hails Appeal Court Judgment on Rivers Revenue Allocation, Cites Support for Federalism

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has praised the Court of Appeal’s judgment that overturned orders preventing the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant General of the Federation from releasing funds to the Rivers State government.

Speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Falana expressed his support for the ruling, noting that it aligns with the principles of federalism enshrined in Nigeria’s Constitution. He pointed to the earlier judgment by the same court that upheld the local government election conducted by the Rivers State Electoral Commission as another example of the court reinforcing federalism.

“The decision of the Court of Appeal which validated the local government election conducted by the Rivers State Electoral Commission and the judgment delivered today, which has set aside the decision to seize the statutory allocation of Rivers State, are both in line with the principles of federalism outlined in the Constitution of Nigeria,” Falana said.

He further emphasized that the Court of Appeal’s ruling made clear that federal agencies and officers cannot assume jurisdiction over matters related to the internal affairs of state governments, such as revenue allocation and local government elections. According to Falana, such cases should be handled by state courts rather than the Federal High Court.

On Friday’s ruling regarding Rivers State’s revenue allocation, the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Hamman Barka, concluded that the matter was outside the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. The appellate court allowed Rivers State’s appeal and annulled all orders made by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, which had restricted the state from receiving its statutory allocations. The court ruled that the lower court had overstepped its authority and lacked jurisdiction in the case.