April 16, (THEWILL) – The High Court of Rivers State has dismissed a misleading report that Justice Boma Diepriye declared as “unconstitutional, null and void”, the appointment of Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas by President Bola Tinubu as Administrator in charge of the State.
An online news, 247 Ureports, on Tuesday, reported that a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, presided over by Justice Diepriye, purportedly gave Ibas 48 hours to vacate the Rivers Government House. According to the report, the court emphasised that the Nigerian Constitution provides no room for such an appointment in a federating unit where a governor has neither been impeached nor incapacitated.
President Tinubu had on March 18, suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy along with the Rivers State House of Assembly for an initial period of six months and appointed Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (rtd) as Administrator in charge of the State.
However, a rebuttal signed on Wednesday, by David D. Ihua-Moduenyi, Esq., Chief Registrar, High Court of Rivers State, described the report as malicious, false news.
Urging the public to ignore the false and misleading publication, Ihua-Moduenyi, emphasised that “no State High Court gave any order(s) relating to or concerning the subject matter as captioned in the online news.”
The statement emphasised that “Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri is not a Judge of the Federal High Court but a Judge of the Rivers State High Court, and is already on Easter Vacation, which commenced on Monday, 14th April, 2025.
“For the period of the Easter Vacation, only the vacation Judge is sitting; and Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri is not the vacation Judge.
“The mention of the name of Hon. Justice Boma Diepriye which is similar with Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri of the Rivers State High Court is not only false, but misleading, and clearly exposes the crass ignorance of the reporter: as the Federal High Court is different from Rivers State High Court.
“No State High Court gave any order(s) relating to or concerning the subject matter as captioned in the online news.
“It is regrettable that some bloggers and online news reporters have traded professionalism on the altar of pecuniary gains they seek to derive from traffic on their social media handle and web pages.
“Henceforth, the Judiciary enjoins the general public to seek clarification on any news report concerning the Court and official of the Court before publication.
“The general public is advised to clearly ignore the false and misleading publication.”
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
