Tension as angry Ijaw Youth Storms Yenagoa Court Over Resource Control, LGA Creation Suit

By Osaro Michael, Benin

Tension continues to mount as hundreds of Ijaw youths converged on the Federal High Court in Yenagoa on Monday to show support for a lawsuit demanding resource control and the creation of more local government areas in Bayelsa State.

Clad in white and singing solidarity songs, the protesters massed outside the courtroom as the Supreme Egbesu Assembly SEA began hearing of its case. To maintain order, court officials moved the crowd to a building away from the courtroom so proceedings could continue without interruption.

The cases, numbered FHC/YNG/CS/63/2026 and FHC/YNG/CS/64/2026, are asking the court to approve 25 new LGAs for Bayelsa and give oil-producing states more control over their natural resources. The Attorney General of the Federation and the National Assembly are named as defendants.

Presiding judge, Justice Ayo Emmanuel, adjourned the matter to July 1, 2026, to allow time for the defendants’ applications to be heard. None of the defendants sent representatives to Monday’s session.

After the hearing, SEA’s counsel, E.K. Okorodas, told reporters that the AGF had filed a counter-affidavit opposing the resource control suit but was absent in court. “Today was for hearing, and the AGF’s office filed a counter to the resource control issue. Surprisingly, they didn’t show up,” he said.

Okorodas added that the plaintiffs had already submitted a further affidavit and a reply on points of law. He noted that the National Assembly and AGF had also missed the deadline to file any response in the suit seeking more LGAs for Bayelsa. “But in the interest of justice and fair hearing, the court adjourned to July 1 for the applications,” he explained.

SEA filed the suits after years of agitation over what it calls unfair treatment of the Ijaw people. Speaking to journalists, the group’s Secretary-General and first IYC Worldwide President, Dr. Felix Tuodolo, said litigation became the last option after street protests failed to get government attention.

“We’re here again because our two main demands — resource control and additional LGAs — have been ignored for years,” Tuodolo said. “We’ve protested in Yenagoa, Port Harcourt, and Warri. Some youths were killed. Now that we’re older, we’ve chosen the legal route.”

He called on the government to act on the issues in court, warning that continued silence could frustrate younger activists. Tuodolo also vowed that SEA would not allow political actors in Rivers State to reduce Ijaw people to second-class citizens. “Any party that undermines Ijaws in Rivers will not get our support. We’re watching developments in the state’s politics and will respond at the right time,” he warned.

Separately, the group has also taken Nigeria to the ECOWAS Court of Justice over the country’s involvement in the Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline project.