On Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the deepening political crisis in the state.
Addressing the nation in a live broadcast, Tinubu announced the suspension of Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor; Ngozi Odu, his deputy, and all members of the Rivers assembly for six months.
The president also appointed retired Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas as the administrator of the state.
While the declaration of a state of emergency is constitutionally backed under certain conditions stipulated under section 305 of the 1999 constitution (as amended), legal experts argue that suspending a sitting governor, deputy governor, and lawmakers is beyond the president’s constitutional powers.
There are also claims on social media that the supreme court had queried Joshua Dariye’s suspension as Plateau governor after the then-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, declared a state of emergency.
On May 18, 2004, Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau state due to violent ethnic and religious clashes.
He suspended Dariye as the state governor, and the state legislature, and appointed Chris Alli, a retired general, as the sole administrator.
Aggrieved, the Plateau government and the state house of assembly challenged the president’s actions before the supreme court in a suit marked SC. 113/2004 and filed on June 24, 2004.
VERIFICATION
DID THE SUPREME COURT VOID THE SUSPENSION OF THE PLATEAU GOVERNOR?
Amongst several issues for determination and reliefs sought, the plaintiffs had asked the court to declare Dariye’s suspension and that of the state assembly “unconstitutional, null and void as a violation of the provisions of sections 176 and 90 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999″ which establish those organs for the government of the state.
The defendants – the attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and the national assembly – raised several objections to the suit.
In a further counter-affidavit, Alli, who was the sole administrator of Plateau during the period of the emergency, challenged the competence of the suit, adding that he never gave authority to the plaintiffs to file the suit.
“That as the officer conferred with the Executive powers to administer Plateau State I have not instructed anybody whomsoever to institute any action challenging the validity or otherwise of the constitutional exercise of powers by the President and National Assembly with regards to Plateau State,” Alli averred.
Delivering judgement on January 20, 2006, a seven-member panel of the apex court led by Muhammadu Uwais, former chief justice of Nigeria, struck out the case on jurisdictional grounds.
In the lead judgement, Idris Kutigi, one of the justices, agreed that the appointed administrator was in charge of Plateau and did not give his consent to anyone to file a suit on behalf of the state.
“My conclusion therefore is that the 1st and 2nd plaintiffs did not authorise this suit and no instruction was given for filing same at the time it was filed. Any retrospective approval given by governor Dariye is unhelpful as you cannot put something on nothing. There was therefore nothing to ratify,” Kutigi said.
“The suit having been filed without the authorization by the plaintiffs deserves one thing only. That one thing is simply to strike out the case in its entirety. The suit is hereby struck out.”
The other justices – Akintola Ejiwunmi, Niki Tobi, Dahiru Musdapher, Ignatius Acholonu, and George Oguntade – agreed with the lead judgement.
In reality, the apex court did not delve into the substance of the case to resolve the constitutionality or otherwise of Dariye’s suspension.
Reflecting on this position, Acholonu said: “The issue before us in this case raises important constitutional questions which all things being equal would have enabled this court to give a careful consideration to it”.
“It is disheartening and disturbing that a case is lost because of the inability of counsel briefed to determine or ascertain the procedural law that would enable the party complaining of infraction to have due access to the court, failing ignobly. I say no more. I adopt the judgment of my learned brother, Kutigi, JSC as mine. I too strike out the action”
VERDICT
The claim that the supreme court declared the suspension of the Plateau governor in 2004 unconstitutional is false.
