Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, has called on the judiciary to urgently determine the constitutional validity of the emergency rule recently lifted in Rivers State, warning that leaving the matter unresolved would set a dangerous precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.
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He said that without a judicial pronouncement, Section 305 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency, could be abused to settle political scores.
President Bola Tinubu, on September 17, 2025, announced the cessation of emergency rule in Rivers State and reinstated Governor Siminalayi Fubara and other elected officials. While acknowledging the controversy generated by his proclamation, Tinubu noted that over 40 cases were instituted in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Yenagoa to challenge the declaration.
“That is the way it should be in a democratic setting,” Tinubu added, noting that some of the suits remain pending in court.
Falana, however, stressed that the judiciary cannot sidestep its responsibility as it did in earlier cases involving emergency rule.
He recalled that in Attorney-General of Plateau State v Attorney-General of the Federation (2006), the Supreme Court struck out a suit challenging the suspension of state officials on the grounds that the emergency rule had expired, rendering the case academic. Similarly, in Attorney-General of Ekiti State v Attorney-General of the Federation, the apex court declined jurisdiction.
But according to Falana, the Rivers cases are different because they raise “live constitutional issues” that go beyond the restoration of Governor Fubara and other officials.
“The pending suits question the President’s powers to suspend elected state officials, appoint a sole administrator, dissolve state executive bodies, and even conduct local government elections without due process,” Falana said.
“These matters involve the interpretation of sections 1(2), 5(2), 11, 176, 180, 188, and 305 of the Constitution, and they cannot be dismissed as speculative.”
He warned that without a judicial pronouncement, Section 305 of the Constitution, which empowers the President to declare a state of emergency, could be abused to settle political scores.
Falana also cited the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who had earlier described the Rivers declaration as a “clear signal” to other crisis-ridden states, and urged critics to allow the courts to make a final determination.
“The Bola Tinubu administration has thrown a challenge to the judiciary; the courts must take it up without further delay. Otherwise, the sword of Damocles will continue to hang over the heads of elected governors.”
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