By Akanimo Sampson
Nigeria is undoubtedly progressing faster, since the abortion of military dictatorship in Africa’s most populous country. Disturbingly, the country is progressing with its reverse gear in a civil rule.
The flawed 1999 Constitution, even as amended, has been criminalised by the power of ‘terrorists’ in high places. Last Thursday, the Senate, contrary to expectations, shamelessly joined the House of Representatives in emboldening President Bola Tinubu to upturn the constitution and keep it standing on its head. It rubber-stamped the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State and the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Earlier that day, the Green Chamber gave Tinubu the go ahead with his subversion of the supreme law. With the shocking development, Tinubu was granted the power to enforce emergency measures while mandating a review of the situation at any time, but no later than six months.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced their anti-people decision after a closed-door session that lasted over an hour. Akpabio stated that the Senate relied on its Orders 133, 134, 135, and 136 to pass the resolution. He disclosed that Tinubu wrote them a letter of proclamation on the six-month suspension slammed on Fubara.
According to the letter, “In compliance with the provisions of Section 305, Subsection 2 of the constitution, I hereby forward, for the consideration of the Senate, copies of the official Gazette of the State of Emergency Proclamation 2025.
The main features of the proclamation are as follows: A declaration of a State of Emergency in one State of the Federation, namely, River State.
“The suspension from office of the Governor, his Deputy, and all members of the State House of Assembly; An appointment of Vice-Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, as the Administrator to administer the State subject to any instruction or regulation as may be made from time to time and to be issued by me.
“While I look forward to the expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration.”
Sadly, those who fought the military out of power did not envisage that a time will come in 2025 when a power drunk ruler will willingly hand over the affairs of a strategic oil state to the military.
26 years after the exit of the military, it was expected that Nigeria must have maturely transitioned from a mere civil rule to a full blown democracy. That does not seem to be the case. Democracy is still far afield even when the country is under the watch of a supposed democrat of the NADECO days.
It’s now beginning to make more sense why NADECO expelled him before the inauguration of his seeming fascist regime. Early in March 2023, NADECO USA announced the expulsion of the then President-elect, Bola Tinubu, for allegedly emerging through a fraudulent electoral process.
The pro-democracy group gave the indication in a statement by its Executive Director, Lloyd Ukwu, an attorney, that the expulsion will be formalised at an international press conference that was scheduled that week at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
The group vowed that it will not tolerate electoral fraud, just because Tinubu, a candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), was its founding member and a stalwart of NADECO USA.
While the group disclosed that it will initiate moves to interrogate the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) server and Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used for the February 25, 2023 presidential election in Nigeria with a view to extracting the original votes cast. It also disclosed that it will approach the United States Congress “to commence the introduction of a non-binding Resolution calling on the US administration not to recognise the product of the election.
According to NADECO USA, “it is the product of a poisonous tree”, adding that it will hand out press kits containing among other things “a synoptic 10-minute video highlighting the major flaws in the process just concluded.”
However, in a sharp contrast to the President Olusegun Obasanjo years, Tinubu on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 in a fascist-like move, removed an elected governor and his deputy, and suspended the state legislature for six months.
With the loud outcry of knowledgeable Nigerians on the constitutional implications of the blunder, it would seem Tinubu didn’t get it right. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) declared that the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by the President contained in his address to the nation on Tuesday was in breach of the constitution.
Even though Tinubu said the declaration was due to the prevailing political tension in the state and the “vandalisation of pipelines between yesterday (Monday) and today”, the NBA was unfazed about the development.
For the NBA President, Afam Osigwe, SAN, the development has far-reaching constitutional and democratic implications, particularly in light of the provisions of Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), which governs the procedure for the proclamation of a state of emergency and which Tinubu purportedly relied upon.
“Section 305 of the Constitution, indeed vests the President with the power to declare a state of emergency, the Section stipulates strict conditions and procedural safeguards that must be followed to ensure that such extraordinary measures do not infringe on democratic governance and fundamental human rights”, NBA said, pointing out that it is “gravely concerned about the purported suspension by the President of the Governor of Rivers State, the Deputy Governor, and the members of the state House of Assembly for six months.
“The 1999 Constitution does not grant the President the power to remove an elected governor, deputy governor, or members of a state’s legislature under the guise of a state of emergency. Rather, the Constitution provides clear procedures for the removal of a governor and deputy governor as per Section 188.
” Similarly, the removal of members of the House of Assembly and dissolution of parliament is governed by constitutional provisions and electoral laws, none of which appear to have been adhered to in the present circumstances.
“A declaration of emergency does not automatically dissolve or suspend elected state governments. The Constitution does not empower the President to unilaterally remove or replace elected official – such actions amount to an unconstitutional usurpation of power and a fundamental breach of Nigeria’s federal structure.
“The NBA firmly asserts that the situation in Rivers, though politically tense, does not meet the constitutional threshold for the removal of elected officials. For a state of emergency to be declared, Section 305(3) of the Constitution outlines specific conditions, including: War or external aggression against Nigeria; imminent danger of invasion or war; a breakdown of public order and safety to such an extent that ordinary legal measures are insufficient; a clear danger to Nigeria’s existence; occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity affecting a state or a part of it; and such other public danger that constitutes a threat to the federation.”
NBA questioned whether the political crisis in Rivers reached the level of a complete breakdown of law and order warranting the removal of the governor and his administration. “Political disagreements, legislative conflicts, or executive-legislative tensions do not constitute a justification for emergency rule. Such conflicts should be resolved through legal and constitutional mechanisms, including the judiciary, rather than executive fiat”, the lawyers group said.
The purported removal of Governor Fubara, his deputy, and members of the state House of Assembly, according to it, “is therefore unconstitutional, unlawful, and a dangerous affront to our nation’s democracy. Furthermore, subsection (2) of Section 305 provides that: ‘A Proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect— (a) if it is not approved by a resolution of the National Assembly within two days when the National Assembly is in session; or (b) if the National Assembly is not in session, within ten days after it reconvenes’.
“These provisions provide that a state of emergency declared by the President does not assume automatic validity. It requires legislative ratification within a defined timeframe to remain in effect. The NBA, therefore, emphasizes that unless the National Assembly duly approved the proclamation, the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers remains constitutionally inchoate and ineffective”.
In light of the foregoing, NBA affirmed that Tinubu does not have the constitutional power to remove an elected governor under a state of emergency, that sny such action is an unconstitutional encroachment on democratic governance and the autonomy of state governments.
It called on the National Assembly to reject any unconstitutional attempt to ratify the removal of the Rivers governor and other elected officials, insisting that the approval of a state of emergency must be based on strict constitutional grounds, not political expediency. It warned that suspending elected officials under emergency rule sets a dangerous precedent that undermines democracy and could be misused to unseat elected governments in the future.
NBA demanded that all actions taken in Rivers have to strictly conform to constitutional provisions and Nigeria’s democratic norms, and encourages all stakeholders, including the judiciary, civil society, and the international community, to closely monitor the situation in Rivers to prevent unconstitutional governance and abuse of power.
It must be noted that Tinubu was the serving Lagos State Governor when a similar incident occurred in 2004. He criticized the move as illegal at the time. The first time was in May 2004, during the second term of President Obasanjo. A crisis broke out when Muslims were killed in Yelwa, Plateau State, in what was described as a religious attack led by Christians of the Tarok tribe.
The incident triggered retaliatory killings of Christians by Muslims in Kano State, leading to a breakdown of law and order. The Nigerian Red Cross reported that over 600 Muslims were killed by Christian militants armed with guns and machetes.
Prior to the May 2004 incident, Plateau had witnessed violent clashes between Christians and Muslims in 2001, resulting in the deaths of over 2,000 people on both sides.
In response, Obasanjo declared a state of emergency in Plateau, ousted Governor Joshua Dariye, and accused him of failing to take decisive action to end the violence. “It is unfortunate and illegal. This has to be discouraged. It is a bad precedent. What the President of the country has done, I pray it doesn’t stand”, Tinubu said in a report published by The Comet newspaper that transformed into The Nation.
Obasanjo also suspended the Plateau Legislature and appointed retired army general Chris Ali, an indigene of Plateau, as interim administrator for six months. In a nationwide radio broadcast on May 18, 2004, Obasanjo criticised Dariye for his indecisiveness and alleged that his failure to intervene firmly contributed to the Yelwa massacre.
“If anything, some of his utterances, his lackadaisical attitude, and seeming uneven-handedness over the contending issues present him as not just part of the problem, but also as an instigator and a threat to peace. I hereby declare a state of emergency in Plateau”, he stated.
Critics, however, questioned Obasanjo’s failure to declare a state of emergency in Kano, where similar violence had occurred under Governor Ibrahim Shekarau.
Since Obasanjo left office in 2007, no other president invoked Section 305 Subsection 3 of the 1999 Constitution until his kinsman’s latest declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers.
A senior journalist/editor, Babafemi Ojudu, who had been a member of the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, urgent his kinsman to rethink the emergency rule decision before irreparable damage is done, hammering that emergency rule was not the right strategy.
“It is an admission of failure. There are far more effective, far less destructive ways to handle this situation”, argued. Ojudu warned President Tinubu that his action was not the best way to manage the Rivers crisis, saying it portends disaster for the Tinubu administration, for the economy, and for Nigeria.
“Does the President realise that the Niger Delta crisis twice pushed Nigeria into recession under President Muhammadu Buhari? Has he been informed that at one point, Nigeria’s oil production collapsed to below 400,000 barrels per day, down from 2.5 million barrels per day? That catastrophic drop in production was a direct result of political mismanagement and conflict in the region.
“It took years of painstaking effort and immense risks to stabilize the region, stop the sabotage of oil infrastructure, and restore some level of production. I should know – I was part of that difficult and excruciating process.
“This decision threatens to undo all that progress. If the situation escalates, we risk another shutdown of vital oil production facilities. We risk renewed pipeline sabotage, illegal oil bunkering, and militant activities. We risk another economic nosedive – at a time when Nigeria can least afford it. The global oil market is unforgiving.
” Investors do not wait for internal political conflicts to be resolved. They simply take their capital elsewhere. Mr. President, this is not just about Rivers. It is about Nigeria’s economic survival. And what about the soldiers fighting to keep Nigeria safe?
“While we waste energy escalating political battles in Rivers, thousands of Nigerian soldiers are still fighting for their lives -and for the nation’s survival—against insurgents, bandits, and kidnappers in the North-East, North-West, and North-Central. These are the real emergencies. These are the crises that demand decisive leadership. The men and women of our armed forces are stretched thin, battling terrorists and criminal networks daily. They do not need yet another crisis to divert resources and attention.
“Nigeria cannot afford to be fighting on multiple fronts—politically, economically, and militarily. Mr. President, do not open a new war front in Rivers while real wars are still raging elsewhere”, the vintage
Babafemi Ojudu of The Tell magazine fame, said.
For now, the worsening socio-economic situations in Nigeria for a decade tend to depict the country as a failed state. Though the concept is in dispute, insurgency, extreme political corruption, crime rates, an impenetrable and ineffective bureaucracy, judicial ineffectiveness, and the consolidation of power by the ruling party, are not speaking well of Nigeria.
While the country appears to be functioning, the emerging dangerous 2027 politics could derail the infrastructural pursuit, the twisted economic and social policies of the regime in Abuja. And, as the devious reelection battle begins to play out, it should, however, be noted that no one political group or social formation has the monopoly on the use of force.
