The Supreme Court has ruled that the President has the power to declare a state of emergency in any state to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
In a majority ruling on Monday, the apex court added that during that period, the President can suspend elected officials, provided any such suspension is for a limited duration.
Justice Mohammed Idris, in the lead judgment, quoted Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution which he said empowers the President to adopt extraordinary measures to restore normalcy where a state of emergency has been declared.
Justice Idris said the provision does not specify the exact nature of those extraordinary measures, further giving the President discretion on how to act in such circumstances.
The ruling was sequel to a suit instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors who challenged the declaration of a state of emergency President Bola Tinubu imposed on Rivers State during which elected state officials were suspended for six months.
The Attorneys-General of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa states file the suit marked SC/CV/329/2025, making the Federal Government and the National Assembly as defendants power to suspend a democratically elected government in a state and whether the procedure adopted in declaring the state of emergency in Rivers State contravened the 1999 Constitution.
The governors asked the apex court to also determine “whether, upon a proper construction and interpretation of Sections 1(2), 5(2), 176, 180, 188, and 305 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can lawfully suspend, or in any manner whatsoever interfere with, the offices of a Governor and the Deputy Governor of any of the 36 component States of the Federation and replace them with his unelected nominee as a Sole Administrator, under the guise of, or pursuant to, a Proclamation of a State of Emergency in any of the Plaintiffs’ States.”
They also wanted to know “whether, upon a proper construction and interpretation of Sections 1(2), 4(6), 11(4) & (5), 90, 105, and 305 of the Constitution, the President can lawfully suspend the House of Assembly of any of the 36 States under the guise of, or pursuant to, a Proclamation of a State of Emergency in such States.”
While ruling on the matter, Justice Idris said the preliminary objections raised by the defendants, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly, was against the competence of the suit, adding that the governors did not establish any cause of action capable of activating the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.
In the six-to-one majority decision, Juctice Idris said the plaintiffs did not proof the existence of an actionable dispute between them and the Federation to warrant the exercise of the court’s original jurisdiction.
Upon that, the apex court threw out the suit for want of jurisdiction and proceeded to consider the substantive issues and dismissed the case on the merits.
However, Justice Obande Ogbuinya who dissented, held that the suit succeeded in part and added that Tinubu has the power to declare a state of emergency, but such power cannot be used to suspend elected state officials such as governors, deputy governors and members of state legislature.
