Supreme Court upholds President’s power to declare emergency rule

The Supreme Court has affirmed the President’s constitutional authority to declare a state of emergency in any state to avert a breakdown of law and order.

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

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris held that Section 305 of the Constitution grants the President the power to take extraordinary steps to restore order once emergency rule is proclaimed.

He explained that the provision does not clearly define the scope of such extraordinary measures, thereby allowing the President discretion in determining the appropriate actions to take.

The ruling followed 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 preliminary objections raised by the defendants, ruling that the objections were valid and affected the competence of the suit before the court.

The plaintiffs were the Attorneys-General of PDP-controlled states, while the defendants were the Federal Government and the National Assembly.

The suit, marked SC/CV/329/2025, was predicated on eight grounds.

The plaintiffs asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the President has the constitutional authority to suspend a democratically elected government in a state and whether the procedure adopted in declaring a state of emergency in Rivers State contravened the 1999 Constitution.

Consequently, Justice Idris struck out the suit for want of jurisdiction. He nevertheless proceeded to consider the substantive issues and dismissed the case on the merits.

However, Justice Obande Ogbuinya dissented, holding that the suit succeeded in part.

He agreed that the President has the power to declare a state of emergency, but held that such power cannot be used to suspend elected state officials, including governors, deputy governors, and members of state legislatures.