Legal practitioner and Nollywood veteran, Kenneth Okonkwo, has faulted the position of the Supreme Court on the state of emergency earlier declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
According to him, the Supreme Court only gave an opinion on the matter after acknowledging that it lacked jurisdiction on the matter.
He, however, lamented that the opinion has set a precedent in legal matters.
Okonkwo, who is also a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said the apex court should have kept quiet after declaring that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter instead of throwing the nation into further confusion based on the verdict it issued on Monday.
Naijaonpoint recalls that the Supreme Court had on Monday, struck out the suit filed by Adamawa and 10 other Peoples Democratic Party-led states challenging the propriety of the state of emergency declared by President Bola Tinubu in Rivers State.
Tinubu had, during the emergency rule, suspended elected state officials for six months. The President suspended 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.
In a split decision of six-to-one, the Supreme held that the plaintiffs (the 11 PDP states) failed to establish any cause of action capable of activating the original jurisdiction of the apex court.
The Court upheld the power of the President to declare a state of emergency in any state to prevent a breakdown of law and order or degeneration into a state of chaos or anarchy.
The court further held that, during such a period, the President may suspend elected officials, provided any such suspension is for a limited duration.
However, Okonkwo, in his reaction on Tuesday while speaking on the verdict during an interview with Channels Television, 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.
“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.
“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 said.
The lawyer said he has lost trust in the country’s judicial system, arguing that the Supreme Court by its verdict, has set a preidence whch empowers the President to suspend the 36 governors of the country and possibly rule Nigeria with the military for a limited period.
“As a lawyer, I am not confident in the judicial system because their judgments are not reflecting the rule of law,” he said.
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 added.