Court Restrains s Pro-Wike Rally in Bayelsa
The Bayelsa State High Court sitting in Yenagoa has issued an ex-parte order restraining allies of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, from organising a planned mega rally in the state slated for April 12, 2025.
Justice I.A. Uzakah, in his ruling on Thursday, barred the rally’s lead convener, George Turnah, and others from hosting or participating in any political gathering in Bayelsa pending the hearing and determination of a Motion on Notice.
The court order followed Suit No. BYHC/YHC/CV/133/2025 filed by the Attorney-General of Bayelsa State, Biriyai Dambo (SAN), who argued that the proposed rally posed a threat to the state’s peace and security.
“An order of interim injunction is hereby granted restraining the 1st and 2nd Defendants… from conducting, convening, coordinating, engaging in, organising, participating in, holding, hosting or facilitating any political assembly… for the purpose of solidarity, hosting and celebrating the 2nd Defendant in Bayelsa State,” the judge ruled.
Listed as defendants in the suit were Turnah, Wike, the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command.
The matter was adjourned to April 11 for substantive hearing.
Turnah, a suspended member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had announced plans to organise a solidarity rally in honour of Wike. He recently emerged as Secretary in a controversial South-South Zonal Congress held in Calabar—an outcome that was swiftly disowned by the PDP’s national leadership. The party later constituted a caretaker committee, naming Chief Damiete Herbert-Miller as secretary.
Governor Douye Diri has expressed concerns over the proposed rally, describing it as a destabilising plot by suspended party figures allegedly working to disrupt the state’s peace.
He pointed to recent unrest in Kalabari, Rivers State, during a similar pro-Wike event, where security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters. Diri warned against allowing Bayelsa become the next flashpoint of political unrest.
“Any attempt to import the Rivers political crisis into Bayelsa will be resisted,” he warned after an emergency meeting with the Bayelsa Elders Council and the State Security Council.
He further called on security agencies to be on high alert and urged parents and traditional rulers to caution youths against being used to foment unrest.
Diri accused Turnah of being part of a “kangaroo PDP South-South Zonal Congress” and of endangering the peace of the state for political gain.
