Legal luminary and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Joseph Bodurin Daudu, SAN, has weighed in on the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, asserting that the President’s authority to take over the administration of the state is well within constitutional bounds.
In a detailed legal analysis, he dismissed concerns about the legality of suspending the executive and legislative arms of government in an emergency-affected state, stating that no Nigerian court has ruled such actions unconstitutional.
“Has any court in Nigeria declared the suspension of the executive and legislative arms of the state government under emergency rule as unconstitutional or illegal? I have my doubts,” Daudu argued.
While acknowledging past legal challenges, particularly in relation to Plateau State in 2004 and 2006, he clarified that those cases were decided on the issue of locus standi (legal standing) rather than the constitutionality of emergency rule itself.
Daudu urged those affected by the decision to challenge it in court, but maintained that “as things stand today, the person who can declare a state of emergency, i.e., the President, is the one who gets to decide how the subject state will be run.”
Addressing concerns over the removal of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara from office, Daudu justified the move, stating that a governor who has been complicit in plunging a state into disorder cannot simultaneously be expected to restore order.
“A Governor that has been found complicit in the events leading to the declaration of the state of emergency in his territory cannot at the same time be left to administer the state that he has plunged into chaos and near anarchy. One must give way for the other.”
He further explained that emergency rule effectively places the affected state under the direct control of the federal government through the President’s appointed sole administrator.
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“Simply put, the declaration of a state of emergency means that the President takes over direct rule of the state through his agent, known as the sole administrator. It will therefore be incongruous and completely out of place for the President and the suspended Governor to rule the subject state at the same time.
On the suspension of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Daudu clarified that during an emergency, only the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to legislate for the state.
“The House of Assembly of the state now stands suspended. They can no longer act as legislators. Only the National Assembly, pursuant to Section 11 of the Nigerian Constitution, can make laws for the peace, order, and good governance of such a state.”
Responding to comparisons with former President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of emergency rule in 2014, Daudu dismissed claims that Fubara’s suspension was unprecedented.
He argued that Jonathan’s failure to remove governors in Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno states at the time was a matter of personal choice rather than constitutional restraint.
“The fact that GEJ in 2014 did not remove the Governors of Adamawa, Yobe, and Borno States when he declared a state of emergency does not make it unlawful if another President decides to act differently.”
In a scathing remark, he suggested that Jonathan’s inaction may have contributed to the Boko Haram crisis spiraling out of control.
“The former president GEJ did not have the courage or the guts to suspend the governors, which, had he done so, would probably have nipped the Boko Haram crisis in the bud. This probably explains why Nigerians rejected him at the polls when he sought reelection in 2015.”
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