SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PRESIDENT’S POWER TO DECLARE EMERGENCY RULE
Abuja, Nigeria — 2025
The Supreme Court has affirmed the constitutional authority of the President to declare a state of emergency in any state threatened by a breakdown of law and order, including the power to temporarily suspend elected officials as an extraordinary measure to restore stability.
The apex court delivered the ruling in a split decision of six to one by a seven-man panel of justices in a suit filed by Adamawa State and 10 others, challenging President Bola Tinubu’s March 18, 2025 declaration of emergency rule in Rivers State.
The emergency declaration had resulted in the six-month suspension of the Rivers State Governor, Deputy Governor, and members of the State House of Assembly following a prolonged political crisis and heightened security concerns.
Although the Supreme Court initially dismissed the suit on jurisdictional grounds—holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish a sufficient cause of action to invoke its original jurisdiction—the court proceeded to address the substantive constitutional issues for clarity and guidance.
In the lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, the court held that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) grants the President broad discretionary powers to adopt “extraordinary measures” during a state of emergency to prevent anarchy or restore public order.
The court noted that while the constitutional provision does not expressly list specific actions permissible under emergency rule, it can be interpreted to allow the temporary suspension of elected officials, provided such actions are time-bound and directed at restoring normal governance.
“The President is vested with the responsibility to protect the federation, and this includes deploying necessary tools during crises where governance has collapsed,” the lead judgment stated.
However, Justice Obande Ogbuinya dissented, arguing that although the President has the constitutional power to declare a state of emergency, such authority does not extend to suspending democratically elected governors, deputy governors, or lawmakers.
He maintained that suspending elected officials undermines the principles of federalism and bypasses the constitutional processes established for the removal of elected office holders.
The ruling has sparked renewed debate on the scope and limits of presidential emergency powers within Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
