PDP Emergency Rule Suit targets Tinubu’s Rivers decision as Supreme Court reserves judgment on legality of suspending elected officials during state emergency
PDP Emergency Rule Suit took centre stage at the Supreme Court on Tuesday as ten Peoples Democratic Party–controlled states challenged President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
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The apex court reserved its judgment after adopting all final written arguments from parties involved.
The suit—marked SC/CV/329/2025—was originally brought by 11 PDP-led states, but Delta State formally withdrew from the case during proceedings, leaving ten states, including Adamawa, Enugu, Osun, Oyo, and Bauchi, among others, as plaintiffs.
Central to the PDP Emergency Rule Suit is the legality of President Tinubu’s decision on 18 March 2025 to suspend Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all members of the state House of Assembly amid a political crisis.
Tinubu had installed retired naval officer Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas as sole administrator, effectively taking over governance in the oil-rich state.
Lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Eyitayo Jegede (SAN),told the court the suit was not about the President’s power to declare an emergency per se but about the extent to which such powers can disrupt constitutional officeholders.
“Can the President lawfully displace elected officials in the name of emergency?” Jegede asked rhetorically.
The PDP states argue that Tinubu’s actions violated sections of the 1999 Constitution, insisting that a state of emergency does not permit the replacement of democratic institutions with appointees.
In a fiery rebuttal, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the case outright. He argued the President acted constitutionally to restore law and order amid what he called “an extraordinary situation in Rivers.”
Fagbemi insisted that the governor and others were not removed but temporarily suspended, stressing that the government was “protecting democracy, not undermining it.”
Echoing this stance, counsel to the National Assembly, Charles Yohila, aligned with Fagbemi’s argument and asked the court to throw out the case.
Justice Inyang Okoro, who led the seven-member panel of Justices, reserved judgment and said the court would communicate the date of its decision in due course.
This PDP Emergency Rule Suit now hangs as a constitutional test case on presidential powers in a democracy.
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At stake is not just Rivers State’s political fate, but a precedent that could reshape how future national emergencies are interpreted and applied.
