Why Supreme Court Should Have Declined Comment On Rivers Emergency Rule — Kenneth Okonkwo

A legal practitioner, Kenneth Okonkwo, has said it would have served Nigeria better if the Supreme Court had declined to comment on the emergency rule declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State, having admitted that it lacked jurisdiction in the matter.

Okonkwo made the remark while reacting to Monday’s ruling of the apex court, which upheld the President’s power to declare a state of emergency in any state to prevent a breakdown of law and order or a degeneration into chaos or anarchy.

In a split decision of six to one, the Supreme Court held that the President, during a state of emergency, can suspend elected officials, but that such suspension must be for a limited period.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court Upholds President’s Power To Declare Emergency Rule, Suspend Elected Officials

This position supports President Tinubu’s decision to suspend the Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Ngozi Odu, and members of the state House of Assembly for six months when he declared state of emergency in the state in March.

However, Okonkwo, who is also a member of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) National Working Committee (NWC), disagreed with the court’s position.

He argued that while the President has the constitutional right to declare a state of emergency, he does not have the power to suspend elected officials.

He further faulted the Supreme Court for striking out the suit for want of jurisdiction and yet proceeding to determine the case on its merits before dismissing it.

According to him, the apex court should not have gone ahead to comment on the matter after admitting that it lacked jurisdiction.

“They said they don’t have jurisdiction, so they just stated an opinion. It means that what they just stated is an opinion, but their opinion still matters in legal issues,” Okonkwo said on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday.

“If I were in their position, I wouldn’t have done that. As an apex court, they have the right to simply decline jurisdiction and not make any other comments. That is a right given to them, rather than throwing the nation into confusion,” he added.

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Okonkwo argued that, by this judgment, the Supreme Court seems to have given the President the right to suspend the 36 governors of the country and possibly rule Nigeria with the military for a limited period.

The lawyer said he has lost confidence in the country’s judicial system, noting: “As a lawyer, I am not confident in the judicial system because their judgments are not reflecting the rule of law.”

However, he commended the one dissenting Justice in the Rivers Emergency Rule ruling, saying he aligns himself with the Justice’s position.

“I am not confident in the judgments coming out from our courts. Thank God there was one dissenting voice among the Supreme Court Justices, and I have the right to align myself with him,” Okonkwo said.