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Prominent lawyer and activist Barrister Deji Adeyanju has strongly condemned President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State, likening the move to actions taken by Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Pulse Nigeria, Adeyanju argued that the president lacks the constitutional power to suspend an elected governor or unilaterally impose emergency rule.
“The governor is not an appointee of the president; he is an elected official, just like the president himself. What Tinubu has done is completely outside his constitutional powers,” Adeyanju stated.
READ ALSO: Rivers: History of state of emergency declarations in Nigeria since 1999
He further criticised the manner in which the decision was made, saying, “The president cannot wake up one morning, after eating amala, and declare a state of emergency in an opposition-controlled state. This is nothing but a civilian coup.”
Adeyanju referenced Section 305 of the Nigerian Constitution, emphasising that a state of emergency can only be declared if law and order have completely collapsed and if conventional security forces, particularly the police, have failed to restore normalcy.
“This administration is beginning to feel like a military regime,” he added, recalling how Tinubu, as a member of the defunct NADECO group, once opposed similar actions under General Sani Abacha’s military government.
On the role of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in the crisis, Adeyanju suggested that Wike had the most to gain politically.
READ ALSO: Old photos of Wike and Rivers interim governor sparks controversy
“Wike should be investigated for the pipeline explosion in Rivers. In other states, where hundreds have been killed, no state of emergency was declared. Yet in Rivers, where no one was killed, Tinubu moves in. Of course, this is political,” he argued.
Adeyanju urged the Rivers State Government to challenge the decision in court, insisting that only the judiciary or an impeachment process can lawfully remove a governor.
“The way forward is for the Supreme Court to decide: Does the president have the power to suspend a governor? The answer is clear—he does not,” he concluded.