Supreme Court Backs Tinubu On Emergency Powers, Upholds Temporary Suspension Of Elected Officials

Nigeria’s 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 state officials.

In a landmark 6–1 decision, the apex court dismissed a suit filed by Adamawa State alongside 10 other PDP-governed states challenging President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s proclamation of emergency rule in Rivers State. The declaration had included the six-month suspension of elected state officials.

Although the court upheld preliminary objections on jurisdiction and struck out the suit, it nonetheless addressed the substantive issues raised and ruled in favour of the President’s actions.

Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris held that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution confers wide discretionary powers on the President to take “extraordinary measures” to restore order where a state faces imminent anarchy or constitutional collapse.

The court noted that while the Constitution does not expressly itemise the measures available under emergency rule, it does not prohibit actions such as the temporary suspension of elected officials, provided such steps are proportionate, time-bound, and aimed at restoring constitutional order.

Justice Idris stressed that emergency powers are not intended to dismantle democracy but to preserve it in exceptional circumstances.

In a lone dissent, Justice Obande Ogbuinya disagreed, maintaining that the President’s emergency powers, though valid, do not extend to suspending democratically elected governors, deputy governors, or members of state legislatures, warning that such actions could undermine federalism and democratic norms.

The ruling sets a far-reaching precedent on the scope of executive authority during emergencies and is expected to shape future constitutional and political debates in Nigeria.