- Supreme Court Dismisses PDP States’ Suit Over Rivers Emergency Rule
- Court says plaintiffs lacked cause of action
- Justices affirm President’s constitutional emergency powers
The Supreme Court on Monday struck out a suit filed by Adamawa State and 10 other Peoples Democratic Party led states challenging the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
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EKO HOT BLOG reports that President Tinubu had imposed emergency rule in Rivers State and suspended elected state officials for six months, citing security concerns and the need to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
In a split decision of six to one, the apex court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish any cause of action that could activate its original jurisdiction.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Mohammed Idris ruled that the 11 states did not demonstrate the existence of any actionable dispute between them and the federation that would warrant the Supreme Court’s intervention under its original jurisdiction.
Justice Idris held that the plaintiffs merely raised political and constitutional questions without showing how the emergency declaration directly infringed on their legal rights as states within the federation.
The court further affirmed that the Constitution empowers the President to declare a state of emergency in any part of the country when there is a threat of breakdown of law and order or a slide into chaos or anarchy.
According to the court, such powers are meant to safeguard national stability and public safety, provided they are exercised within constitutional limits.
The ruling effectively ends the legal challenge mounted by the PDP controlled states against the emergency measures imposed in Rivers State.
