Ijaw Youths storm court over resource control, Bayelsa LGA suit

Hundreds of Ijaw youths on Monday thronged the premises of the Federal High Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, to demonstrate solidarity during the first hearing of two high-profile suits seeking resource control and additional local government areas for the state.

Dressed in white apparel and chanting solidarity songs, the youths gathered peacefully outside the courtroom as legal proceedings commenced.

Court officials confined the protesters to a building outside the courtroom to maintain decorum and ensure proceedings were not disrupted.

The legal actions, marked as suits FHC/YNG/CS/63/2026 and FHC/YNG/CS/64/2026, were officially instituted by the Supreme Egbesu Assembly (SEA), an Ijaw rights organization.

The plaintiffs are demanding that oil-producing states gain greater autonomy and direct control over the natural resources found within their territories.

The suit asks the court to compel the federal government to create 25 additional Local Government Areas (LGAs) for Bayelsa State.

The group argues that Bayelsa’s current structure of only eight LGAs severely limits its access to federal allocations and impedes grassroots growth.

They are proposing that the state’s existing 24 Rural Development Authorities be upgraded to full LGA status.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the National Assembly are listed as defendants in the matter.

At Monday’s proceedings, presiding judge, Justice Ayo Emmanuel, adjourned the case to July 1, 2026, to enable hearing of applications filed by the defendants, who were not represented in court.

Speaking to journalists after the sitting, counsel to the Supreme Egbesu Assembly, E.K. Okorodas, said the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation had filed a counter-affidavit challenging the resource control suit but failed to appear in court.

“Today was supposed to be for hearing, and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation has filed a counter challenging the issue of resource control. Incidentally, they are not in court today,” he said.

Okorodas explained that the plaintiffs had filed a further and better affidavit as well as a reply on points of law in response to issues raised by the AGF.

He added that the defendants were yet to file any process in the suit seeking additional local government areas for Bayelsa State, despite being out of time.

“The defendants, which are the National Assembly and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, have not filed any processes.

“But in the interest of justice and fair hearing, the court has further adjourned to July 1 to hear the application,” he said.

The Supreme Egbesu Assembly had earlier instituted the legal action after years of agitation over what it described as inequities affecting the Ijaw people.

Also speaking, Secretary-General of the Assembly and pioneer President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, Dr. Felix Tuodolo, said the group had resorted to legal means after several protests failed to attract the desired government response.

“We are here today again because we have not been listened to over the years on two major issues — resource control and additional local government areas,” Tuodolo said.

“We are veterans of the Ijaw struggle. We have marched on the streets of Yenagoa, Port Harcourt and Warri demanding these things.

“Some of our youths have been killed in the past, and because we are growing old, we have decided to take the legal way of pursuing these things.”

He urged the government to address the grievances being raised in the suits, warning that continued inaction could fuel frustration among younger activists.

The Ijaw group is also pursuing a separate case before the ECOWAS Court of Justice, challenging Nigeria’s participation in the Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline project.