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Coup: Why President Tinubu Can’t Deploy Troops To Niger – SANs

Published

2 years ago

August 6, 2023

Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, have adduced reasons why President Bola Tinubu cannot unilaterally deploy troops to Niger Republic to restore democratic rule in the troubled country.

In separate interviews with Vanguard, the learned silks maintained that for the armed forces of Nigeria to be deployed on a combat duty in Niger Republic, President Tinubu, must secure the approval of the National Assembly.

However, the senior lawyers pointed out that the only time the 1999 Constitution, as amended, permits the President to deploy soldiers to another country without prior approval of the legislative arm of the government, is when there is an imminent threat to national security.

In such situation, they stressed that the President, having deployed troops outside the shores of the country, must within seven days, seek approval of the National Assembly, which in turn must take 14 days to either okay or reject the military action.

According to Jacob Usman, SAN: “By Section 5 (4) (a) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the President cannot declare a state of war between Nigeria and any other country, except with the approval of both the House of Reps and the Senate, sitting in a joint session.

“What it means is that if there is any threat to Nigeria and the President is of the view that there is a need to declare a state of war between Nigeria and that country, he must seek the approval of the National Assembly, both the Senate and House of Reps in a joint session, not with each of them sitting independently.

“Subsection 4 (b) provides that except with the prior approval of the Senate, the President shall not deploy any of the armed forces of Nigeria outside the country.

“This is where the case of Niger Republic comes in. The President wrote for the approval of the Senate for the armed forces of Nigeria to be deployed on a combat duty out of Nigeria and the Senate, to my understanding rejected the approval.

“What this means is that without the Senate approving the presidential request, the President cannot and shall not deploy any armed forces of the federation out of Nigeria on a combat duty.

“However, it does not end there. By reason of subsection 5, there is a proviso that notwithstanding the provision of subsection 4, the President, in consultation with the National Defence Council, may deploy armed forces out of Nigeria on a limited combat duty if he is satisfied that there is a real threat, that is, that Nigeria is under a real threat and the President could not get the approval of the Senate.

“He could deploy armed forces within seven days and must seek the approval of the Senate which must either approve or reject it within 14 days.

“Where the Senate approves the request within 14 days, then, the troops may be deployed. But where the Senate rejects the request, the President must recall the troops back to Nigeria,” Usman, SAN, added.

Likewise, another SAN, Mr. Abeny Mohammed, argued that the consent of the Senate was a constitutional requirement “that cannot be vetoed by the President.”

He said: “Sending Nigerian troops to a foreign country to fight or to engage in war with a foreign country are serious matters that cannot be left to the decision of the president alone.

“It requires the collective decision by the President and the Senate. However, in the event of a sudden attack on Nigeria, the president can deploy troops to repel the attack and defend the country without waiting for the consent of the Senate, which he can seek and obtain subsequently.”

Adding his voice to the debate, a Professor of Law, Epiphany Azinge, SAN, said: “It is not in dispute that the President is the commander -in-chief of the Armed forces, but when it comes to deployment of troops, he needs the acquircence of the Senate.

“This is for many reasons. First is to avoid outright dictatorship by Mr President. Second is to ensure budgetry approval for the conflict.

“A President that decides to engage in conflict against the advice of the Senate may be starved of funds for the prosecution of the war. That is not in the best interest of the nation.”

Similarly, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja, SAN, when he was asked if President Tinubu could deploy troops to Niger Republic despite the withdrawal of consent by the Senate, said: “The answer is an emphatic NO.”

Continuing, he said: “It is the prerogative of the Senate to approve the deployment of troops for combat duty outside Nigeria.

“The President is expected to obtain the prior approval of the Senate before any such deployment.

“Where the approval is refused, that ends the process. Although the Constitution allows the President to deploy troops before approval where there is imminent danger of attack of the Country and thereafter seek approval within seven days, that exceptional scenario does not arise in the instant situation.”

On his part, a front-line human rights lawyer, Chief Nkereuwem Udofia Akpan, said: “You will agree with me that ours is a Constitutional democracy fashioned after the American model where the doctrine of separation of powers forms the fulcrum upon which that structure revolves.

“A community reading of Sections 5, 305(1), (2) and (3) of the Constitution shows that the president can

declare a state of emergency and deplore troops outside the shores of Nigeria in certain situations.

“The conditions laid down for such a declaration are set out in section 305 (3) subparagraphs (a)-(g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

“By the provisions of subsection 2 of section 305, the President is mandated to make copies of the official gazette of the federation containing the proclamation to both the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representative.

“Upon receipt of the Gazette containing the proclamation, both houses will meet and consider whether to approve or reject .

“Clearly, the President cannot override the decision of both houses of Parliament if those houses at plenary vote to reject the proclamation. The constitution grants the National Assembly powers in section 305 (2) to jettison and refuse to approve the proclamation.

“Curiously subsection 5 of section 5 of the same Constitution provides that the president can ignore the National Assembly and consult with the National Defense Council to deplore troops outside the shores of Nigeria on the condition that national security is under imminent threat or danger.

“Now, the proviso to that section 5(5) of the constitution mandates the President to still go back to NASS for approval for the action and at that point NASS may approve or reject the deployment

“In summary, it appears to me that the framers of our constitution never envisaged a situation where the President can go to war without any input from both houses of the NASS- Senate and House of Representative,” he added.

It will be recalled that the Senate had last Friday, rejected President Tinubu’s request to deploy troops to Niger Republic in support of move by the leadership of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, to reinstate President Mohammed Bazoum, who was recently ousted from office through a coup d’état.
VANGUARD

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China, US Agree To Resume Trade Talks

Published

15 hours ago

October 18, 2025

Editor

China and the United States agreed on Saturday to conduct another round of trade negotiations in the coming week, as the world’s two biggest economies seek to avoid another damaging tit-for-tat tariff battle.

Beijing last week announced sweeping controls on the critical rare earths industry, prompting US President Donald Trump to threaten 100 percent tariffs on imports from China in retaliation.

Trump had also threatened to cancel his expected meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

In the latest indication of efforts to resolve their dispute, Chinese state media reported that Vice Premier He Lifeng and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had “candid, in-depth and constructive exchanges” during a Saturday morning call, and that both sides agreed to hold a new round of trade talks “as soon as possible”.

On social media, Bessent described the call as “frank and detailed”, and said they would meet “in-person next week to continue our discussions”.

Bessent had previously accused China of seeking to harm the rest of the world by tightening restrictions on rare earths, which are critical to everything from smartphones to guided missiles.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also participated in the call, according to the report by Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Hours before the call, Fox News released excerpts of an interview with Trump in which he said he would meet Xi at the APEC summit after all.

Trump told the outlet that the 100 percent tariff on goods from China was not sustainable.

“It’s not sustainable, but that’s what the number is… They forced me to do that,” he said.

The high-level video call came as Washington worked to rally Group of Seven finance ministers in response to the latest Chinese export controls.

For now, the G7 ministers have agreed to coordinate a short-term response and diversify suppliers, the EU’s economy commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters in Washington.

Speaking after the grouping met this week, Dombrovskis noted the vast majority of rare earth supplies come from China, meaning that diversification could take years.

“We agreed, both bilaterally with the US and at the G7 level, to coordinate our approach,” he said on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s fall meetings.

Countries would also exchange information on their contacts with Chinese counterparts as they work out short-term solutions, he added.

German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told journalists he hopes that Trump and Xi’s meeting can help to resolve much of the US-China trade conflict.

“We have made it clear within the G7 that we do not agree with China’s approach,” he added, referring to the group of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva also expressed hope Friday for an agreement between the countries to cool tensions.

The US-China trade war reignited this year as Trump promised sweeping tariffs on imports soon after returning to office.

At one point, US-China tariffs escalated to triple-digit levels, effectively halting some trade as businesses waited for a resolution.

The two countries have since lowered their respective levies, but their truce has remained shaky.

AFP

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Morocco Jails Student One Year Over Gen Z Protest

Published

2 days ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

A student arrested during Morocco’s youth-led protests has been sentenced to one year in prison, his lawyer told AFP on Friday.

The case marks the first publicly known prison sentence linked to the kingdom’s Gen Z demonstrations, which have been held near-daily between late September and last week to demand social and political reforms.

The student was charged with “participating in an unauthorised and unarmed gathering” and “insulting the judicial police by providing false information”, lawyer Mohamed Nouini said.

“The ruling is unfair, and we will appeal,” he added, arguing that sit-ins did not require authorisation as per a Supreme Court precedent.

The lawyer said his client was arrested on September 30, three days after the protests erupted in the North African country.

According to a report by news website Hespress, citing another lawyer, the student’s arrest was “an unfortunate coincidence” as he was in Casablanca for a family visit.

The other lawyer, Mohamed Lakhdar, told the judge the student had “not insulted” police nor provided false information, telling them he “was just a student”, according to the report.

Hundreds were arrested during the early days of the largely peaceful demonstrations.

Some cities had seen spates of violence and acts of vandalism, while authorities have said three people were killed by police acting in “self-defence” during clashes in a village near Agadir.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) has said roughly 550 people are facing prosecution on suspicion of joining the protests, with some still in detention.

The organisers of the online-based movement behind the nationwide protests, the GenZ 212 youth collective, remain unknown.

The collective has called for “peaceful sit-ins” on Saturday and demanded the release of those arrested during the demonstrations.

The protest came after the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir.

But protesters have also demanded reforms to the education system and a change of government.
AFP

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Trump Refiles $15bn Defamation Lawsuit Against New York Times

Published

2 days ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has refiled a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, court documents show, weeks after it was thrown out by a federal judge.

Trump has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, and the suit is one of numerous attacks against news organizations he accuses of bias against him.

The Times’ complaint was thrown out in September because District Judge Steven Merryday took exception to its florid writing, repetitive and laudatory praise of Trump, and its excessive 85-page length.

The suit filed Thursday in Florida and seen by AFP runs to less than half the length, at 40 pages.

It takes aim at “false, defamatory, and malicious publications”, highlighting a book and two Times articles.

The lawsuit named the newspaper, three Times reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants.

It accuses them of making defamatory statements against Trump “with actual malice.”

“The statements in question wrongly defame and disparage President Trump’s hard-earned professional reputation, which he painstakingly built for decades” before entering the White House, the lawsuit says.

The court was asked to grant compensatory damages of not less than $15 billion and additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”

Trump’s attacks on media outlets have seen him restrict access, badmouth journalists critical of his administration, and bring lawsuits demanding huge amounts of compensation.

In July, Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion after it reported on the existence of a book and a letter he allegedly sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Paramount settled Trump’s lawsuit over election coverage on CBS News’ flagship show “60 Minutes” for $16 million the same month. He had alleged that the program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favor.

AFP