Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), a renowned human rights activist has revealed that the Tinubu government is obligated by Section 5(4) of the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) to obtain the permission of both chambers of the National Assembly.
Falana quoted the section, saying, “The President shall not declare a state of war between the federation and another country except with the sanction of a resolution of both Houses of the National Assembly, sitting in a joint session. And except with the prior approval of the Senate, no member of the armed forces of the federation shall be deployed on combat duty outside Nigeria.”
“In addition to the constitutional mandate, the ECOWAS is required to seek and obtain the authorisation of the UN Security Council to launch an attack on a sovereign nation pursuant to Article 53(1) of the United Nations Charter. Article 53(1) provides in part, ‘the Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilise such regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under its authority’.”
Falana said that the conduct of ECOWAS, as a regional arrangement, is subject to the provisions of the United Nations Charter, particularly Article 53(1) and general international law.