A renowned lawyer and university lecturer, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja has spurned the peace accord between suspended Governor Sim Fubara and FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, saying it is “duress-induced”.
In an open letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr Jaja stated inter alia that: the President lacks the power to forbid Governor Fubara to contest in 2027; the matter of suspension of the Rivers governor is still pending at Nigeria Supreme and ECOWAS courts; Governor Fubara was deemed to be under duress because of the suspension order on him.
Dr Jaja gave pertinent example with the Kingdom of Lesetho.
The press statement:
OPEN LETTER TO PBAT: THE ILLEGALITY AND UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF President TINUBU’S LATEST DURESS-INDUCED PEACE ACCORD WITH GOVERNOR FUBARA: A LESSON FROM THE JUDGMENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT OF LESOTHO ON THE 2022 “SELF-INDUCED” STATE OF EMERGENCY”
By
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja.
Your Excellency, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Sir,
On behalf of the Ijaw speaking and all right -thinking professionals of Rivers State, let me begin by thanking you for all your efforts to ensure that peace is restored to Rivers State.
In the year 2022, the Hon. Attorney-General of the Kingdom of Lesotho invited me to provide Independent legal advice on the State of Emergency that was declared by the then Prime Minister. You can call him and confirm from him. I was introduced to him because I was already the foreign legal consultant slated to provide training for lawyers of the Office of Parliamentary Counsel, Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Lesotho.
This free legal advisory is based on my hands-on experience derived from that instance of State of Emergency and the resultant judgment.
Before I delve into the parallels and lessons to be derived from that judgment let me begin by stating for the records that the recent Peace Accord dated 26th June 2025 is both illegal and unconstitutional.
The reasons are as follows:
1. You lack the powers to forbid or prohibit Governor Fubara from contesting in the 2027 general elections. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 confers voting rights primarily through provisions related to political participation, particularly in Sections 77, 117, 132, and 178. And only by operation of the Electoral Act, 2022 and PRONOUNCEMENT of a court of law, can Governor Fubara be deprived of his right to vote and be voted for. Recall that recently, even the Speaker of the House of Representatives had to retract a Bill that he sponsored seeking to impose a penalty of six months imprisonment for defaulters who failed to vote during general elections. He had to withdraw the said Bill because it was in violation of Sections of the Nigerian Constitution;
2. The issue of Sub-Judice-the State of Emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of Governor Fubara is the subject-matter of litigation at the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the ECOWAS Court of Justice. As a general rule, all parties are supposed to await the judgment of these courts of law and do nothing such as the recent Peace Accord to tamper with the res (subject-matter); and
3. Duress is unacceptable and is regarded as a vitiating factor under the law regulating both contracts, agreements and force majeure. In this instance, Governor Fubara is deemed to be under duress due to the suspension placed upon him. He does not enjoy the freedom to negotiate. The first step is to lift the said suspension and the State of Emergency then you can hold a meeting where all parties can negotiate without any form of duress. “Consensus ad idem (Latin for “agreement to the same thing”) means that all parties to a contract must have a clear and mutual understanding of the terms and subject matter of the agreement. It signifies a “meeting of the minds” where there is a common intention to accept and be bound by the same contract.”
Having dealt with the foregoing, let me now turn your attention to the judgment of the constitutional court of the Kingdom of Lesotho delivered in August of the year 2022.
The Prime Minister of Lesotho as a politician was in a similar predicament as your good self. A lot of pressure was on him.
He asked the Hon. Attorney-General for legal advice.
The said Hon. Attorney-General in turn asked me to provide a written legal opinion.
In my own legal opinion, I advised that the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Lesotho does not support the plan by the Prime Minister to declare a State of Emergency because the pre-requisite circumstances have not arisen.
Secondly, I also advised that it would amount to a violation of the relevant sections of the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Lesotho to recall the Parliament after it had been officially dissolved by a proclamation by His Majesty, the King of Lesotho in accordance with the said Constitution.
However, the Prime Minister refused to accept the legal advice.
He went ahead to declare a State of Emergency upon the Kingdom of Lesotho on that the all-important 10th amendment (omnibus) Bill was not enacted by Parliament before it’s official dissolution having reached its official end of tenure. Secondly, the Prime Minister advised His Majesty who then issued a proclamation to recall and reconvene the dissolved Parliament. They then sat and enacted the said 10th Amendment to the 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Lesotho.
A non-profit, Non-governmental Organisation-NGO named Yearn for Economic Sustainability (YES) dragged the Speaker of the National Assembly (National Parliament) of the Kingdom of Lesotho and all the key actors to the constitutional court of Lesotho.
In the landmark judgment that was delivered by the Chief Justice of the Kingdom of Lesotho, both the said amendment and the State of Emergency were declared as unconstitutional.
On this note, I rest my case.
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja,
27th June 2025.