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Falana says Supreme Court rejected suspension of state officials under emergency rule
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Court ruling affirms constitutional separation of powers
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SAN warns against media misinterpretation of apex court judgment.
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has clarified that the Supreme Court did not approve the suspension or dissolution of elected state officials during the declaration of a state of emergency.
Falana made the clarification while reacting to the apex court’s judgment delivered on December 15, 2025, in the suit filed by the Attorney-General of Adamawa State and 19 others against the Attorney-General of the Federation.
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Although the Supreme Court dismissed the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi, Falana said the court nonetheless examined the substantive constitutional issues raised in the case.
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He explained that sections of the media wrongly interpreted the ruling to suggest that the court endorsed the suspension of democratic institutions during emergency rule. According to him, the judgment clearly rejects such an interpretation.
Falana noted that in the lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Baba Idris, the Supreme Court expressly held that Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution does not empower the President to dissolve or suspend state executive or legislative organs during a state of emergency.
The court further reaffirmed the doctrine of separation of powers, stressing that governmental authority is divided among the executive, legislature, and judiciary at the federal, state, and local government levels.
Justice Idris stated that no arm or tier of government is constitutionally superior to another and that none can lawfully assume powers assigned to another under the Constitution.
The apex court also observed that, unlike some countries, Nigeria’s Constitution deliberately prevents the President from taking over state institutions during emergency rule in order to preserve federalism and state autonomy.
Falana urged the media and the public to accurately report judicial decisions, warning that distortion of court rulings could undermine constitutional democracy and public confidence in the legal system.
