Constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, has condemned the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, describing it as a civilian coup d’état.
In a public broadcast on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and announced the six-month suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Mrs. Ngozi Odu, and all elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The President further nominated Vice Admiral Ibok-ette Ibas (retd.) as the administrator to oversee the affairs of Rivers State during the suspension.
However, in a statement on Thursday, Ozekhome argued that the suspension of the democratically elected governor, deputy governor, and the entire State House of Assembly is unconstitutional.
He emphasised that the allocation of state funds from the Federation Account to a sole administrator is also illegal, as it contradicts a Supreme Court judgment.
Ozekhome further explained that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) is explicit that Section 305, which grants the President powers to declare a state of emergency, does not authorize the removal or suspension of an elected governor.
He also pointed out that Section 11(4) of the Constitution denies even the National Assembly the power to remove a governor under emergency rule, indicating that the President cannot be granted such authority.
“A state of emergency does not and cannot translate to a civilian coup d’état executed through executive fiat in a national broadcast that torpedoes elected structures and whimsically imposes a sole administrator to receive Rivers State allocations in violation of Section 162 of the Constitution and contrary to the Supreme Court judgment that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu claimed to uphold,” Ozekhome said.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria criticised the suspension of elected officials as an unprecedented and unlawful step.
He questioned whether Rivers State posed a genuine threat to national stability or was merely a convenient political battleground.
“If emergency rule in Rivers is truly about law and order, why was a handpicked administrator imposed while duly elected officials were suspended? Is this about democratic governance, or is it about power and control?” Ozekhome asked.
He emphasised that no constitutional provision, statute, or known convention grants the President imperial authority to dissolve the structures of an elected state government.
“This might have been acceptable during the era of military juntas, but Nigeria is now governed under a constitutional democracy with a presidential system. Emergency provisions under Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution exist to restore order during grave crises, not to topple duly elected officials,” he stated.
Ozekhome expressed concern about the potential precedent this action could set, where presidents might remove governors perceived as disloyal to the central government.
“And now, as Rivers State stands at the centre of this unfolding simulated constitutional debacle, one must ask: Is this the signal of a dangerous precedent for and kite-flying to Nigeria, of a looming maximum dictatorship in the offing in a one-party State? Will other “erring” Governors who refuse to align with the central government be next in line? Are we witnessing the return of a dangerous era of impunity where emergency rule becomes the bludgeon of political control rather than a tool for stability,” Ozekhome asked.
He reminded Nigerians that the Constitution provides only one legal pathway for removing a state governor—through impeachment as stipulated in Section 188 of the Constitution.
The lawyer noted that this process is legislative, not executive, requiring a State House of Assembly to initiate and conduct impeachment proceedings as dictated by the Constitution.
Ozekhome further questioned why the President interfered, in any event, the Rivers State House of Assembly ( whether rightly or wrongly) had already commenced an impeachment process against the Governor.
“Why truncate the constitutional process with an unconstitutional executive fiat?” he asked.
The lawyer also criticised the President for acting on the state of emergency without first seeking approval from the National Assembly.
“In present scenario the bi-camera National Assembly had not even first met, discussed and approved the president’s emergency proposals before he acted upon it. He did it in advance ( in futuro) in expectation of rubber-stamping by a pliable and malleable NASS”.
He stressed that a state of emergency does not dissolve governance structures. The governor, as the chief executive of the state, remains in office, and state institutions continue to function unless expressly provided otherwise by law.
“There is no such law in Rivers State or at the national level,” he said.
Ozekhome warned that allowing Tinubu’s actions to stand could set a dangerous precedent where emergency powers are used for political suppression rather than to address genuine crises.
“While the President may take extraordinary measures to maintain peace and order, those measures must align with the Constitution. There is no provision, express or implied, that allows the President to remove a sitting governor and state legislators under the guise of emergency powers,” he argued.
He dismissed the reasons cited for the state of emergency, including localized incidents of vandalism, as insufficient to warrant such drastic measures.
“There is no threat of external aggression or invasion either across the country or in Rivers State. All that we have seen have been tussle for power between the Governor and the House of Assembly and the courts had already waded in with the Governor declaring he would comply with the Supreme Court’s judgement. A mere blow up of oil pipes in two communities by unidentified persons certainly does not constitute a war or external invasion situation.
“President Tinubu lacks the power, authority and vires to suspend democratic structures, especially the removal of Governor Sim Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly members. His actions constitute a gross constitutional aberration that could destabilize Nigeria and Rivers State. The Constitution must remain sacrosanct, or democracy will perish,” Ozekhome stated.