Prominent Nigerian legal experts under the umbrella of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) have petitioned the ECOWAS Court of Justice to impose sanctions on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the National Assembly over the controversial declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State.
NaijaBlogDaily reports that on March 18, 2025, President Tinubu announced the emergency rule via a national broadcast, citing concerns over the escalating political crisis in Rivers State. The President accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of demolishing the State House of Assembly complex and subsequently suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and all elected lawmakers in the state for six months.
In a move that has sparked nationwide and international criticism, Retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas was appointed as Sole Administrator to oversee the affairs of the oil-rich state, a decision many have labeled unconstitutional.
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Now, ALDRAP is demanding that the ECOWAS Community Court take swift action against the Nigerian government for what it describes as an unconstitutional suspension of democratic governance. The legal body has filed a suit targeting Tinubu, ECOWAS heads of government, the Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and key officials involved in the endorsement of the emergency proclamation.
According to ALDRAP, the imposition of emergency rule violates ECOWAS Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance, which strictly prohibits unconstitutional changes of government. The group insists that the appointment of a military administrator in place of democratically elected officials amounts to a coup against democratic institutions in Nigeria.
The lawyers have cited Article 45 of the ECOWAS Protocol and the Supplementary Act A/SP.13/02/12 on sanctions, urging the regional body to hold Nigeria accountable in the same way it did Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso for similar breaches of constitutional order.
In an earlier letter dated April 17, 2025, ALDRAP gave the Presidency a 7-day ultimatum to explain the legal provisions backing the Sole Administrator’s powers, especially regarding local government appointments. The group warned that failure to respond would lead to legal action.
Another letter sent to the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government on March 30, 2025, emphasized the need for consistency in enforcing democratic norms. ALDRAP argued that failure to sanction Nigeria would confirm criticisms that ECOWAS operates on double standards, favoring powerful nations while punishing weaker ones.
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“The same ECOWAS that swiftly imposed sanctions on Niger for unconstitutional change of government cannot turn a blind eye when Nigeria—under the leadership of the ECOWAS Chairman—commits similar infractions. This would not only undermine the credibility of ECOWAS but also embolden democratic backsliding across West Africa,” the letter read.
ALDRAP also questioned the President’s justification for declaring a state of emergency, insisting that the so-called crisis in Rivers State was a political disagreement between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, a close ally of the President, not a situation that warranted military-style intervention.
The ECOWAS Court is yet to assign a hearing date for the case, but the suit has already sparked fresh debates about the rule of law, democracy in Nigeria, and ECOWAS’s integrity.
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