Elder Asu Beks, President of the Ijaw Media Forum and Publisher of Shipping World Magazine, has criticized the Supreme Court’s handling of legal challenges to the Rivers State administrative arrangement, questioning both the court’s independence and the constitutional validity of the current leadership structure.
In statements reported by The Sun, Beks raised concerns about the pace of judicial proceedings regarding Rivers State, suggesting political interference in the court system.
“The governors have gone to the court, and because our Supreme Court has become political, such matters should be heard within two, three weeks,” Beks stated, according to The Sun report. He specifically referenced legal action taken by opposition governors, saying, “Some PDP governors have gone to court, so why is the Supreme Court delaying the matter?”
The media executive made serious allegations about judicial independence, suggesting external influence over the court’s proceedings. “It is probably because the Supreme Court is in the pocket of the president and the pocket of Wike. Why are you delaying? That is a suit that should get expeditious attention,” he said, as quoted in The Sun.
Beks maintained his position on the constitutional legitimacy of Rivers State’s current leadership arrangement. “So, the man that is there, as far as I’m concerned, as far as Rivers State people are concerned, is not recognised. He’s an illegal caretaker because there’s nowhere in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that we have the position of a military administrator,” he stated, according to the report.
The criticism comes amid ongoing legal challenges to federal intervention in Rivers State, with questions raised about both the constitutional basis for the current arrangement and the judicial system’s response to these challenges.
