A LEGAL APPRAISAL OF EMERGENCY RULE IN NIGERIA AND SOUTH AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE APPROACH

Abstract

This article is intended to succinctly consider in a comparative manner, emergency rule in Nigeria and South Africa. Emergency rule is a period that is usually temporal in a nation where  extraordinary measures are put in place to handle urgent, unexpected and unprovided for situation or circumstance that may have devastating and life and property threatening effects in a nation or a part of it. The paper shall also consider how these situations were handled here in Nigeria for the periods they have occurred or declared and the situation in South Africa compared with Nigeria and appropriate lessons drawn from them. It is the findings of this paper among others that, state of emergencies so far declared in both nations have some inadequacies, needlessness and even some complaints of lawlessness in them. Some were particularly criticized in Nigeria as being politically motivated and inordinately handled. The South African situation seems better and more orderly and well intended. The paper recommends that declaration of emergency rules must be used sparingly and in deserving situations that actually require their declarations, considering the fact that, when declared some suspensions or restrictions of some human rights and laws which usually accompany them, lead to abuses of human rights and very high uncertainties to handle in terms of the sudden need of resources; both human and material that are usually unavailable or inadequate. Government at all levels must at all times ensure that actions and policies are put in place to prevent the occurrence of emergency situations for prevention is usually better than the search for solutions.