Supreme Court upholds president’s power to declare state of emergency
The Supreme Court on Monday affirmed the constitutional authority of the President to declare a state of emergency in any state to avert a breakdown of law and order or prevent chaos.
In a split decision of six to one, the apex court ruled that the President is empowered under the Constitution to proclaim a state of emergency and, during such a period, may suspend elected officials, provided the suspension is temporary.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris held that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution grants the President the power to take extraordinary measures once a state of emergency has been declared. He noted that the Constitution does not clearly define the scope of such measures, thereby leaving their nature to the President’s discretion, so long as they are aimed at restoring normalcy.
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The judgment arose from a suit filed by states governed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which challenged President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State. During the emergency, elected state officials were suspended for six months. The Supreme Court had reserved judgment in the matter in October.
The plaintiffs were the Attorneys-General of PDP-controlled states, while the defendants were the Federal Government and the National Assembly. The suit was instituted by the Attorneys-General of Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, Bauchi, Akwa Ibom, Plateau, Delta, Taraba, Zamfara, and Bayelsa states.
Marked SC/CV/329/2025, the suit was based on eight grounds. The plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether the President has constitutional authority to suspend a democratically elected state government and whether the procedure used in declaring the state of emergency in Rivers State violated the 1999 Constitution.
Among other reliefs, the plaintiffs sought a declaration on whether the President could lawfully suspend a governor, deputy governor, or state legislature and replace them with an unelected sole administrator under the guise of a state of emergency. They also questioned whether the President could suspend a State House of Assembly pursuant to such a proclamation.
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In its ruling, Justice Idris upheld the preliminary objections raised by the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly, holding that the plaintiffs failed to establish a cause of action capable of invoking the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction.
The majority held that no actionable dispute existed between the plaintiffs and the Federation to justify the court’s intervention. Consequently, the suit was struck out for lack of jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the court proceeded to examine the substantive issues and dismissed the case on its merits.
Justice Obande Ogbuinya dissented, ruling that although the President has the power to declare a state of emergency, such authority does not extend to suspending elected state officials, including governors, deputy governors, and members of state legislatures.
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