by Legalnaija | Jun 22, 2021 | Uncategorized
A new Paul Usoro & Co challenge is live!
Criteria: • All entries should be submitted in word or pdf format to the designated email address with full name, phone number and year of call. (puchallenge@paulusoro.com) • All present and past PUC employees are not eligible to participate. • The essay will be published on the PUC website.
9th
Essay Guidelines: • The body of the essay should not be more than 10 pages and all citations and references should be with the Modern Language Association (MLA) format.
N150k or a 3 month internship to be won!
#pucchallenge
by Legalnaija | Jun 15, 2021 | Directory, Uncategorized
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by Legalnaija | Jun 11, 2021 | Uncategorized
Dear Colleagues,
The International Federation of Women Lawyers [FIDA] Nigeria, Lagos State Branch is pleased to inform you that registration for the 2021 FIDA Lagos Law Week is now open .
The year’s hybrid (physical & virtual) Law Week is themed – “African Child’s Right to life and a stable home : Towards eliminating social conflicts in Nigeria”.
This year’s Law Week is in commemoration of the United Nations International Day.
The Law Week is scheduled to hold as follows-
*Date:* Wednesday, 16th June – Saturday 19th June, 2021.
*Physical Venue:* To be communicated to targeted audience.
*Time:* 10am
Some of the speakers scheduled to speak are –
1, *MARYAM UWAIS, MFR*
2, *TITILOLA AKINLAWON, SAN*
3, *ABIMBOLA AKEREDOLU, SAN*
4, *VICTORIA AWOMOLO, SAN*
5, *KIKELOMO AYEYE*
6, *INEMESIT DIKE*
*EVERYONE IS A DISCUSSANT*
Knowledge Shared, Knowledge Gained
For enquiries please call Abiola Laseinde on 07031781142 or Caroline on 08033078329.
Zoom Registration Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMsceCuqT8iHdUst7qEoKQXZQBiBEo9ijWf
by Legalnaija | Jun 11, 2021 | Uncategorized
Dear Colleagues,
It’s that time again to unwind, FIDA Lagos is set to hold her 2021 Law week dinner themed *”A touch of Royalty”*.
After the intellectually challenging 2-day technical session, what more could we crave for than to let our hair down and enjoy the weekend in style.
This year’s dinner is scheduled to hold on *Saturday, the 19th of June, 2021* at the prestigious *”White Stone Event Centre”* in the heart of Ikeja. Doors will be open by *4pm*.
Side attractions such as dance, comedy, competition have all been lined up for the dinner. Mouth watering gifts and prizes awaits the first 20 persons.
Sumptuous finger licking delicacies ranging from African to Chinese and the best of continental cuisine is what to expect.
Adequate security is guaranteed as you have fun in the heart of Ikeja. So come show off your latest dancing steps.
You don’t want to miss this royal event, hurry and get your dinner cards at :
*#5,000 – For FIDANS*
*#10,000 – For Non-FIDANS*
Interested persons should kindly pay into the *FIDA Lagos Stering bank account- 0003538220*
- For more enquiries, Please call Abiola Laseinde on 07031781142 or Tadeni on 08023175302 or Nnenna on 08037728600
by Legalnaija | Jun 8, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Business Law (NBASBL) 2021 Conference is around the corner and once again it’s an opportunity for commercial lawyers, members of the business community, regulators and members of the public to sit, discuss and strategize on critical issues that benefit the Nigerian business community. This upcoming conference which will be the 15th Annual Conference of the Section of Business Law has us excited for the following reasons;
- The Theme
The theme of this year’s conference, which is Re-tooling Business for Change: Leveraging the Tech Explosion, speaks to recent global trends on the role of technology in today’s legal industry. In the words of Mr. Adeleke Alex – Adedipe, 2021 Chair, Conference Planning Committee;
“with the growth of technology comes an unending struggle of law to keep pace with technological developments and disruptions. This is particularly true of the business space as the fourth industrial revolution continues to emerge and the world tries to grapple with the economic realities of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
It is exciting to note that the NBASBL is looking forward at relevant Tech – trends and is looking to get ahead of it, rather than be left behind.
- The Innovation Hub Challenge
The NBASBL 2021 Conference will also be hosting the Innovation Hub Challenge, wherein winners stand a chance of winning between $1500 – $5000 seed money for solution – driven Apps able to generate social and economic value for a digital society.
The competition is open to all Nigerian Innovators and the panel of Judges includes distinguished personalities from the Tech, Legal and Business Eco – System. Winners also get one year free legal support.
- The Keynote Speaker
The keynote speaker for the NBASBL 2021 Conference is Dr. Wendy Okolo, an aerospace engineering researcher in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center. She leads a controls team on a Space Technology project to advance the guidance, navigation, and control technologies that will make precision landing for deployable entry vehicles a reality for planetary exploration. At 26 years old, Wendy became the first black woman to obtain a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her graduate studies were recognized and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Zonta International through the Amelia Earhart Fellowship, the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Texas Space Grant Consortium. Other research awards include a Resolution of Commendation from the Tarrant County Court of Texas and an award for excellence in research by the Women of Color in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics).
We have not even mentioned the array of over 40 speakers, over 35 sessions and an exciting list of conference events. You should be a part of this exciting conference so go right now to the NBASBL website to register.
by Legalnaija | Jun 8, 2021 | Uncategorized
In Nigeria today, we have two distinct but simultaneously operating principal codes for the determination of crimes in the country. A code is a statute that largely covers the whole of a particular area of law. The Criminal Code operates in the southern region of the country, while the Penal code operates in the Northern region. This article illuminates the development of the Nigerian criminal laws, as well as its sources.
Prior to the involvement of Colonial masters in the ‘Nigerian’ political system, the spectrum of land that is now known as Nigeria was occupied by peoples who had their diverse ways of dealing with public offences. It is noteworthy that a society without laws will ultimately culminate in administrative anarchy and interpersonal chaos.
The ethnic groups we have known to be part of Nigeria had customary laws that sufficed as a recognizable way of dealing with dissenters. These laws were largely unwritten, apart from the Northern Moslem community, which operated written laws under different structures. A major one among these structures was the Maliki School.
The first interference from the Western world with the customary criminal structure was in 1863, when the Common Criminal Laws were introduced to the Colony of Lagos. No other unique law existed in other territories, but for ordinances enacted at specific times to deal with specific issues. This introduced common law was difficult to obey. It was unwritten and unascertainable.
In 1904, the colonial system under the administration of Lord Frederick Lugard introduced a Criminal Code to the Northern region of Nigeria. Thus, making a tripartite criminal law system in the country, wherein the English Criminal Law obtained in Lagos, the Criminal Code in the North, and indigenous rules in the South. The Criminal code became applicable in the whole of Nigeria in 1916, after the Northern and Southern Protectorates were amalgamated in 1914.
The provision of Section 4 of this code was its major delinquency. This section allowed Native courts to continue in the administration of justice with the use of Native laws. This frustrated the functionality of the code, as different regions could still apply their native laws and archaic systems of punishing convicted offenders.
The section read, “No person shall be liable to be tried or punished in any court in Nigeria, other than a native tribunal, for any offence except under the express provision of the code or some other ordinance or some law or some order-in-council made by his majesty for Nigeria”.
Obviously, the words ‘other than a native tribunal’ already made the lapse for its ineffectiveness in the Nigerian system.
To this effect, Section 4 of the Criminal Code was amended in 1933. However, the amendment did not settle matters, as it was not clear what the powers of the Native Courts were when the provision was read together with the Native Court Ordinance of 1933.
In the case of Gubba v. Gwandu N.A. (1947) 12 WACA 141, the West Africa Court of Appeal held that Native laws could be applied on offences under native laws. But if it was an offence provided for under the code, then the code would apply.
The decision of the court caused controversy, since almost all manners of offences were already provided for under the code. This ruling had, therefore, downgraded the customary criminal laws, as well as the Moslem laws. A committee was enacted to look into this issue. The committee proposed that the customary court could apply customary laws to tried criminal cases, without paying regard to the provisions of the code. This proposition was upheld by the court in a case like Kano Native Authority v. Fagoli (1957).
In Maizabo v. Sokoto N.A. [1957] NLR 133 (FSC), the court held that though native courts could try criminal cases, punishment of offenders are not to be given in excess of the provisions of the criminal code. In other words, native courts could try cases, but punishment was to be in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal code.
This situation was unacceptable to native communities, particularly the Northern region, since the code was not drafted for a Muslim community. We must note that the Criminal Code was modelled on the Queensland Code of Australia, drafted by Sir James Fitzsteven in 1878.
The foregoing led to the introduction of the Penal Code to the Northern Region in 1959. This new Code was modelled on a Sudanese code that had already successfully operated in a Muslim community.
1n 1958, the decision was taken in a constitutional conference to wholly expunge the use of customary laws from the Nigerian criminal law system. Thus, making all Nigerian Criminal Laws written, applicable as provided by the Criminal Code and the Penal Code.
A section of the 1959 Bill of Rights, which became section 22(10) of the Nigerian Constitution, 1963, provides – “No person shall be convicted of a criminal offence unless that offence is defined and the penalty therefor is prescribed in a written law.”
Also, Section 8(3) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, provides, “A suspect shall be brought before the court as prescribed by this Act or any other written law or otherwise released conditionally or unconditionally.”
This was how Nigeria ended up with the two-codes system. The Criminal Code that had existed since 1916 (now operative in the Southern region), and the Penal Code of 1959, operating in the Northern region of the country.
Nigeria has its major source of criminal laws from the two principal codes, namely, the Criminal Code Act Cap C38 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and the Penal Code Cap C8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.
Other sources of the Nigeria Criminal laws include the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, the Criminal Procedure Act (Southern), the Criminal Procedure Code (Northern), the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, other Statutes and Acts of the National Assembly, international treaties, and case laws.
Written by: Inioluwa Olaposi
Inioluwa Olaposi studies Law at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. He founded LawHub NG (https://www.lawhub.com.ng), providing academic law posts and laws of Nigeria. He is interested in development and entrepreneurship.
by Legalnaija | Jun 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
On the 4th day of June 2021, the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Federal Ministry of Information & Culture issued a press release informing the entire world, ironically on Twitter, that, the operations of the global microblogging social networking site have been suspended in Nigeria. To put this far-reaching decision in proper perspective, the ministry, in a series of tweets, stated that:
“FG suspends @Twitter operations in Nigeria. The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter in Nigeria.”
Barely 6 hours after the tweets, Nigerians’ access to twitter was systematically and gradually limited or completely blocked and thereby necessitated their resort to Virtual Private Networks (VPN) to access the all-important app/site.
In another frenetic move to ensure Nigerians do not have access to Twitter, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation was reported to have instructed the Director of Public Prosecutions to commence the prosecution of “violators of the Federal Government De-activation of operations of Twitter in Nigeria”
Upon this directive, many newspapers have reported that the purpose is to prosecute users who access twitter though VPN in spite of its suspension in Nigeria. However, this article seeks to briefly highlight some of the many legal issues that have arisen from the most reported events in the past 24 hours in Nigeria, especially among its young citizens.
1. What does it mean to ‘operate’ in Nigeria?
It is beyond doubt that, from the Ministry of Information’s tweets, what was been suspended in Nigeria are the “operations of Twitter.” Now, what does the term ‘operation’ mean under the Nigerian law? At page 275 of Babalola’s Law Dictionary (2nd edn. Noetico Repertum, Lagos, 2019), the word was defined by the Court of Appeal in Osondu v Federal Republic of Nigeria (2000) 12 NWLR (Pt. 682) 470 at 483 as:
“(1) Exertion of power; (2) the process of operating or mode of action; (3) an effect brought about in accordance with a definite plan; (4) action; and (5) activity”
From any of the definitions above, what the FG has simply done was to suspend the “activities” of Twitter in Nigeria and nothing more. It is not beyond doubt that, for business or establishment purposes, to my knowledge, Twitter neither operates an office nor does business in Nigeria within the context of its suspension by the FG.
Hence, the suspension of its operations is rather a matter for the companies that grant access to the site than for Twitter itself since the FG is aware that the company’s physical office in Africa is located in Ghana. Secondly, Twitter, a company, does not have ‘activities’ in Nigeria within the context of its business operations.
However, a discussion of the propriety of such knee jerk approach by the FG to the company’s deletion of Nigeria’s President’s controversial tweet, is another issue that is not the crux of this intervention.
2. Nigerian Communications Commission’s powers to suspend Twitter
From a press release by the Association of Licences Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTCON) dated 5 June 2021, the public was informed of the NCC’s shut down directive but the statement simply alludes to the Commission’s regulatory powers under the NCA 2003.
It must be quickly stated that, no regulator’s power to give directives is at large. Such directives must be given under specific provision(s) of the relevant enabling law. It is trite law that, an agency’s power to give directives is a delegated power which must be clearly and specifically donated by its enabling law. (See NNPC v. Famfa Oil Ltd (2012) 17 NWLR (Pt 1328) 148; FGN v. Zebra Energy Ltd. (2002) 18 NWLR (Pt. 798) 162; Ogunlaji v. A.G Rivers State (1997) 6 NWLR (Pt. 508) 209; UNTHMB v. Nnoli (1994) 5 NWLR (Pt. 36) 376)
I am aware of the NCC’s Internet Code of Practice which empowers the Commission to instruct Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to certain offensive sites. For the avoidance of doubt, clause 7.5 of the Code expressly provides that:
“Upon determination by the Commission that the content reported under Paragraph 7 (2) above is indeed unlawful, the Commission shall issue a takedown notice to all IASPs to deny or disable access to the content. The IASP shall be expected to comply with such takedown notice within 24 hours of receipt of the notice.”
It is interesting to note that, in 2019, I filed a suit at the Federal High Court, Abuja against the NCC challenging the likelihood of this provision to be used to violate fundamental rights of Nigerians pursuant to sections 39 and 46 of the 1999 Constitution but the court dismissed our case as premature and speculative in spite of the instructive wording of section 46 that empowers an applicant to file a suit even when any of his fundamental rights is ‘likely’ to be interfered with.
I saw this (the arbitrary shutdown of anti-government websites) coming and we approached the court but his lordship saw otherwise in Digital Rights Lawyers Initiative v NCC, Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/56/2019 (Judgment delivered in 2020)
Assuming the NCC even wielded the big stick under clause 7.5, the exercise of such powers is clearly circumscribed by certain conditions which must be satisfied as condition precedent before a takedown notice can be issued. Secondly, under the clause, it is the offensive contents that are meant to be attacked but not the entire platform as done in this case.
3. The AGF’s imminent prosecution of ‘offenders’
The AGF, as the chief law officer, has simply directed the DPP to prosecute violators of the ‘de-activation’ directive. To my mind, I respectfully opine that, the very simple question that answers any speculation(s) that may arise here is – who are/were the recipients of the directive. The users or the ISPs? I think the answer is as clear as it could get.
Without necessarily deviating into any argument as to whether the FG has criminalised the use of Twitter (which would be a very preposterous thing to even imagine) and since users were never directed to de-activate their Twitter accounts or never to access Twitter, they are not under any legal obligation to ‘de-activate’ or suspend twitter unlike the ISPs who are duty bound to comply with the regulator’s directives except they are ready to ‘risk it all.’
4. Interference with freedom of expression of millions of Nigerians
CNN reported that about 39 million Nigerians have twitter accounts which mean different things to different people e.g market place, social networking, means of communication, information site etc.
By the suspension, the FG has clearly interfered (whether rightly or wrongly) with citizens’ medium of expression and reception of information in a dangerous affront to section 39 of the 1999 Constitution. I understand a number of organisations are planning to approach the courts once the JUSUN strike is over to challenge the suspension and that is the reason I will pause here.
Conclusively, there are many more legal issues that have arisen and will continue to arise from the FG’s suspension of Twitter in Nigeria. However, considering the value that Nigerians daily derive from the site which, in my modest opinion outweighs political sentiments to the contrary, it is advisable for the FG to rethink its decision. Thankfully, it is a suspension but not an outright ban.
By Olumide Babalola
by Legalnaija | Jun 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
So today the Federal Government released a statement indefinitely suspending twitter operations in Nigeria.
The reason behind this according to them is that there is a “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”
As plausible as this may seem, the question remains – can the FG Ban or suspend the use of twitter in Nigeria. I say this because it is unequivocally enshrined in our Constitution that freedom of expression is a fundamental right and this right is protected by section 39 (1) of our Constitution.
Nigeria is also a party to several international conventionsthat have established the importance of respecting the peoples right to freedom of expression.
The rights of Nigerian citizens to use the platform provided by twitter can be referred to as digital right that comes within the purview of the freedom of expression protected by the Constitution.
It is thus correct to say thatDigital rights are human rights which cannot be arbitrarily breached or curtailed arbitrarily.
The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights unequivocally states that limiting, curtailing or outrightlydisconnecting people from the internet violates their rights. Digital rights under which the use of social media such as twitterfalls, are considered to be fundamental human rights. As a matter of fact, theUnited Nations Human Rights Council in its 2016 resolution resolved that the “same rights that people have offline must also be protected online.” Nigeria as a member of the United Nations and a member of the Human Right Council is a signatory to that resolution and is therefore bound by it.
Additionally, the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which Nigeria is a member and signatory to,provides in paragraph 2 of its Articles that “everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference”.It further provides that “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or print, in the form of art, or through any other media of choice”
It is important to point out however that these rights are subject tocertain restrictions, but these restrictions cannot be arbitrarily or unnecessarily activated;the permissible restrictions include; the protection of national security or maintenance of public order.
I will want to believe that the Federal Government is relying on the above leeway to suspend twitter indefinitely; however I find the decision hasty and impulsive considering the fact that Twitter has a system in place where it removes illegal content upon receipt from third parties, including Governments, to remove illegal content in accordance with the laws of the countries where the people use the service. So if the Federal Government has justifiable proof of a breach of our laws by some twitter users, the simple approach should be to request twitter’s censorship and not a general indefinite ban of the platform. Because how do you justify an attempt todisenfranchiseof over 40M Nigerians of their right to freely express themselves without a firm legal basis for such limitations.
Indeed fake news and incitement are real threats that MUST be curtailed but banning twitter is similar to throwing away the baby with the bath water. The Federal Government must be wary not to impede people rights and creativity by limiting online freedom. Citizens must be allowed to communicate freely online and offline albeit in accordance with legal provisions.
OMORUYI OSAGIE EDOIGIAWERIE ESQ ACIArb(UK)
OmoruyiEdoigiawerie is a Legal Practitioner with over a decade experience. Over the years, he has garnered consummate experience in Corporate Legal Practice and Statutory Compliance Matters.
His core expertise lies primarily in Corporate Commercial Practice, Startup Law, Immigration and Employment law, Immigration Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution and Entrepreneurship. Additionally he regularly provides advisory and capacity building support to a spectrum of clients particularly start-ups whom he enjoys mentoring. To date he has helped build and grow over 1000 startups most of who remain gainfully in business.
Omoruyiholds Graduate and postgraduate degrees in Law and is an Alumnus of the University of Lagos, Harvardx program on Leadership, he is also a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators UK, Mediation specialist and management Consultant, he is also a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and several professional bodies and is an ardent contributor to topical national and Legal issues.
He can be reached on twitter @UyiDlaw, Instagram @Uyilaw and email omoruyi@uyilaw.com.
OmoruyiEdoigiawerie Esq ACIArb
Lagos, Nigeria.
4-6-2021
by Legalnaija | Jun 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) has unveiled its keynote speaker for the 15th Annual Business Law Conference scheduled to hold on Wednesday July 14th and Thursday 15th, 2021.
In a press statement signed by the Chair of the Conference Media, Publicity & Mobilization subcommittee, Theodora Kio-Lawson, the Section revealed that NASA’s Wendy Okolo would give the keynote address at this year’s conference.
Dr. Wendy Okolo is an aerospace engineering researcher in the Intelligent Systems Division at NASA Ames Research Center. She leads a controls team on a Space Technology project to advance the guidance, navigation, and control technologies that will make precision landing for deployable entry vehicles a reality for planetary exploration.
At 26 years old, Wendy became the first black woman to obtain a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Her graduate studies were recognized and funded by the U.S. Department of Defense through the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, Zonta International through the Amelia Earhart Fellowship, the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the Texas Space Grant Consortium. Other research awards include a Resolution of Commendation from the Tarrant County Court of Texas and an award for excellence in research by the Women of Color in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics).
At NASA, she has received a number of awards including the 2020 NASA Ames Award for Researcher/Scientist and the 2019 NASA Ames Early Career Researcher Award. Dr. Okolo is also the recipient of the 2019 U.T. Arlington Distinguished Recent Graduate Award, the 2019 Women In Aerospace Award for Initiative, Inspiration & Impact, and the 2019 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Most Promising Engineer in U.S. Government.
Her focus is in the area of systems health monitoring and control systems design with applications to air and space components, vehicles, and systems. To that effect she manages a multi-million-dollar sub-project on a System-Wide Safety Project, leading a team to develop the monitoring, predictive, and mitigation capabilities that will enable the safe operations of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the U.S. national airspace.
Dr Okolo, whose keynote address will dwell on the 2021 theme: “Re-tooling Business for Change: Leveraging the Tech Explosion”, will kickstart conference conversations across several plenary and breakout sessions to explore the fast-developing relationship between frontier technologies, business and the law.
According to Kio-Lawson, the choice of the young NASA top executive as this year’s keynote speaker was in fulfilment of a promise to offer participants an unusual experience with explosive content and resource at 15th conference.
She said, “The NBA-SBL is dynamic and forward thinking in its approach to achieving its objectives – which includes capacity building, professional development for members, collaborative efforts to drive policy changes and several other contributions to the bar. In the aftermath of a pandemic and faced with current realities, it was important that the 2021 theme brought to light the disruptive nature of technology and its transformative impact across the world today. Hence our choice of theme, keynote speaker and selection of highly knowledgeable speakers and discussants”
The 15th Annual Business Conference which is a hybrid of virtual and in-person attendance will amongst other things, spotlight vital topics such as, tech innovation and e-governance; the future of digital financial services; alternative currencies in the digital age; global tech trends in law practice management; the role and impact of technology and innovation in bridging the health care deficit in Nigeria, amongst other vital discourse
by Legalnaija | Jun 3, 2021 | Uncategorized
A state of emergency or emergency is a situation in which a government makes policies that it would ordinarily be unable to do, in order to protect and ensure the safety of its citizens. Such a state can be declared during civil unrest, armed conflict, epidemic, pandemic and natural disaster.
Section 305 (3) of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria provides thus:
(3) The president shall have power to issue a proclamation of a state of emergency only when:
(a) the Federation is at war;
(b) the Federation is in imminent danger of invasion or involvement in a state of war;
(c) there is actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof to such extent as to require extraordinary measures to restore peace and security;
(d) there is a clear and present danger of an actual breakdown of public order and public safety in the Federation or any part thereof requiring extraordinary measures to avert such danger;
(e) there is an occurrence or imminent danger, or the occurrence of any disaster or natural calamity, affecting the community or a section of the community in the Federation;
(f) there is any other public danger which clearly constitutes a threat to the existence of the Federation; or
(g) the President receives a request to do so in accordance with the provisions of section (4) of this section.
(4) The Governor of a state may, with the sanction of a resolution supported by two thirds majority of the House of Assembly, request the President to issue a Proclamation of a state of emergency in the state in the state when there is in existence within the state any of the situations specified in subsection (3) (c), (d) and (e) of this section and such situation does not extend beyond the boundaries of the state.
From the foregoing, it is clear that the president of Nigeria has emergency powers to declare a state of emergency over the country in times of war or disasters.
In order to prevent abuse of power, powers of emergency are subject to some constitutional checks.The legislature must approve of any declaration made by the president. Then the senate and House of representatives must deeply consider the situation and decide if they need to ratify. The judiciary plays no obvious role except when determining if the measures taken (which affect certain rights) are reasonably justified for the purpose of dealing with the situation.”
The act of proclaiming a state of emergency in Nigeria began in 1962 during the regime of Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa when it was suspected that some members of the Action Group of western Nigeria intended to overthrow the erstwhile government.
President Olusegun Obasanjo declared another state of emergency in 2004 on Plateau State. This time around the then elected governor and state house assembly were suspended because they failed to act during the incessant clashes between the Muslim and Christian communities.
The most recent state of emergency declared was by President Goodluck Jonathan in three states after some deadly attacks by the terrorist group, Boko Haram which killed over 2,000 people.
There are some benefits to declaring a state of emergency where a disaster or war or pandemic has occurred. These include providing emergency shelters or carrying out evacuations, allocating materials/equipment to help create relief, distributing/managing food and resources, imposing law and admonishing citizens to help manage the crisis. However, it is not something to be desired because most times the health service provision for the country breaks down. At some other times, human rights such as right to freedom of movement, right to freedom of expression, etc. are denied.
In the light of everything stated above, it can be concluded that section 305 (3) of the constitution is not sufficient as the only legal provision for declaration of a state of emergency in Nigeria. While it provides information on when a state of emergency can be declared, it fails to give details on how to go about it. There should be a piece of legislation in existence that does justice to this and gives a full explanation of what the president should do with his emergency powers in such a state. This would help to prevent future occurrences where the president is expected to act on his own discretion like in the historical examples cited above.
AOC Solicitors
info@AOCSolicitors.com.ng
www.aocsolicitors.com.ng
