The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Friday, reserved judgement on a suit that is seeking to compel the Federal Government to withhold allocations meant for Local Government Areas, LGA, in Rivers State.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik adjourned for judgement on a day she declined to hands-off the matter which was brought before the court by the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Cited as defendants in the matter marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24, included the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc and the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF).

Others are Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Accountant-General of Rivers; Rivers Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC; Chief Judge of Rivers, Hon. Justice S.C. Amadi; Chairman of RSIEC, Hon. Justice Adolphus Enebeli (rtd.) and the Government of Rivers State.

At the resumed proceedings in the matter, the Rivers State Government, through its counsel, Mr. Gordy Uche, SAN, notified the trial judge that the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal was already seized of the facts of the case.

Uche, SAN, said his client had filed an application to challenge the territorial jurisdiction of the court in Abuja to entertain the case. He argued that the appropriate court to handle the matter was the Division of the Federal High Court in Rivers State.

The state government said its appeal with No. CA/ABJ/CV/1197/2024, had been fixed for hearing, adding that it also filed a motion for the stay of the proceedings before the high court.

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More so, the defendants alleged that Justice Abdulmalik had exhibited bias, insisting that her ability to handle the matter objectively, was in doubt.

On his part, the Accountant General of Rivers state, through his counsel, Mr. Tuturu Edem, SAN, faulted the manner the Judge had been conducting proceedings in the case, describing it as strange and unbelievable.

The position of the Accountant General was also adopted by the CBN and all the other defendants in the suit.

However, in her ruling, Justice Abdulmalik dismissed the applications as frivolous, vexatious, unwarranted and mischievous.

The trial judge also refused to recuse herself from the matter, saying there was no basis to accuse her of bias in the handling of the suit.

She held that the territorial jurisdiction of the federal high court was one across the country.

The Judge maintained that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court had the discretion to assign any case to a Judge of his choice.

Therefore, she directed all the parties to adopt their briefs of argument after which she reserved her judgement in the matter.