Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has stated that the Nigerian Constitution does not explicitly grant the President the authority to assume control of or temporarily remove executive or legislative bodies in a state.

Falana made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television.

He was commenting on a recent Supreme Court ruling, which reaffirmed that the President has constitutional authority to declare a state of emergency in any state where conditions threaten public safety or governance.

Falana said: “Unlike the constitutions of India and Pakistan, the Nigerian Constitution does not explicitly empower the President to assume or temporarily displace executive or legislative institutions of a state.

“In fairness to the Supreme Court, the justice who delivered the leading judgment issued what is regarded as a summary judgment. Unfortunately, many commentators have not taken the time to read it thoroughly.

“The court did confirm that the President can take extraordinary measures to restore law and order in any state under a declared state of emergency.

“It has always been clear that the President can deploy forces or take other steps to maintain law and order. The controversy has always been about the scope of these powers, and the Supreme Court highlighted that Section 305 of the Constitution does not define the full extent of the powers the President may exercise.”