Coronavirus: Lawyer says Buhari lacks powers to declare curfew in Lagos
- Lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, says President Muhammadu Buhari cannot restrict movements in Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja
- Adegboruwa says even though he supports every move to curtail coronavirus, actions must be backed by the law
- The senior lawyer claims the president cannot make such a declaration without the approval of the National Assembly
Minutes after President Muhammadu Buhari declared a curfew on Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun, a senior lawyer has said he does not possess such powers.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a senior advocate of Nigeria, made the declaration late Sunday, March 29.
In a statement obtained by Legit.ng, Adegboruwa said the president can only make such declaration of emergency after approval by the National Assembly.
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The president has no powers to restrict the movement of persons without recourse to the National Assembly.
The president has not invoked his powers under the constitution to declare any state of emergency, which must be approved by the National Assembly.
Adegboruwa noted that Nigeria runs a constitutional democracy that makes it illegal for Buhari to take over the affairs of any state in the country without recourse to the National Assembly.
According to the lawyer, it is only the governor of such state, through its House of Assembly that can make any pronouncements in that regard.
He said it was surprising that the president could not cite any relevant law to back his declaration concerning the imposition of a curfew on the two states and the FCT.
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Legit.ng earlier reported that President Buhari stopped all movements in the FCT, Lagos, and Ogun states in a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic.
The president gave the directive in a presidential broadcast on Sunday evening, March 29, adding that the directive will be for an initial period of 14 days.
Meanwhile, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Bello, has announced that he is negative for coronavirus (COVID-19), which is spreading across Nigeria.
It was learnt that the minister recently submitted his blood sample to be tested for the virus by the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
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Source: Legit.ng
