Supreme Court Upholds President’s Power to Declare State of Emergency

The Supreme Court has affirmed the President’s authority to declare a state of emergency in any part of the country in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order or a descent into chaos and anarchy.

In a split six-to-one decision delivered on Monday, the apex court ruled that the President may suspend elected officials during a state of emergency, provided such suspensions are temporary and limited in duration.

Justice Mohammed Idris, who delivered the lead majority judgment, held that Section 305 of the Constitution empowers the President to adopt extraordinary measures aimed at restoring normalcy whenever emergency rule is proclaimed. He explained that the section does not clearly define the scope of those extraordinary measures, thereby granting the President discretion on how best to act under such circumstances.

The judgment arose from a suit filed by Adamawa State and 10 other states governed by the Peoples Democratic Party, which challenged the legality of the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State. Under that declaration, elected state officials were suspended for six months.

Justice Idris also upheld the preliminary objections raised by the defendants, ruling that the objections were valid and affected the competence of the suit before the court.