Supreme Court voids Buhari’s Executive Order 10

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Supreme Court today voided President Muhammadu Buhari’s Executive Order 10, describing it as illegal, null and void.

In May 2021, President Buhari signed the Executive Order 10, which made it mandatory for all states to include allocations of both the Legislature and the Judiciary in their annual appropriation in compliance with Section 121(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

But the 7-man panel in split decision, 6 against 1,  held that President Buhari acted beyond his statutory powers as President.  

The Supreme Court ruled in the suit filed by 36 states of the federation. But today, six men out of the seven upheld the prayers of the governors, while one member dismissed it.

The suit marked SC/655/2020, filed September 17, 2020 has Attorney-General of the Federation as sole defendant. In the suit filed through their Attorneys- General,  the 36 States governors queried legality of the Presidential Executive Order 10.

In the suit, the plaintiff averred that President Buhari, by virtue of the said Executive Order 10, pushed the federal government’s responsibility of funding both the capital and recurrent expenditures of the state high courts, Sharia Court of Appeal, and the Customary Court of Appeal, to the State governments.

They argued that the Executive Order 10 was a clear violation of sections 6 and 8(3) of 1999 Constitution, which made it the responsibility of the federal government to fund the listed courts.

The 36 states, which said they had been funding capital projects in the listed courts since 2009 also prayed the Supreme Court to order the federal government to make a refund to them.

The apex court however rejected this  relief.