NGScorecard

APC candidate and former governor Timipre Sylva petitioned to overturn Diri's re-election in the November 2023 Bayelsa governorship election, which Diri won with 175,196 votes to Sylva's 110,108.

The tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking merit in May 2024, the Court of Appeal unanimously affirmed this in July 2024, and the Supreme Court dismissed Sylva's final appeal in August 2024, finding he had violated procedural rules by filing two notices of appeal in the same matter.

Rematon Services Limited, the contractor that built the Bayelsa State High Court complex, sought to enforce a ₦1.06 billion court-ordered judgment debt after settlement negotiations with the state collapsed.

The Bayelsa High Court scheduled a contempt hearing for 30 June 2026 against the Attorney-General and two others over the state's persistent failure to honour the judgment debt despite repeated assurances.

A claimant sued the Bayelsa State Government and the Bayelsa State Waterboard Authority over their occupation of disputed land without notice of acquisition, compensation, or compliance with the Land Use Act.

The court ruled the government's occupation and use of the land illegal and unconstitutional, awarding ₦20.5 million in general and exemplary damages and removing the government and Waterboard from the land — a ruling followed by death threats against the winning lawyer and the abduction of the presiding judge.

A boundary and ownership dispute over land between the Burutu community (Delta State) and Agge community (Ekeremor, Bayelsa State) came before the courts.

The court ruled in favour of the Burutu community against Agge, resolving the interstate land dispute against Bayelsa-side claimants.