diff --git a/arch/powerpc/kernel/sysfs.c b/arch/powerpc/kernel/sysfs.c
index defecb3b1b15..08d8072d6e7a 100644
--- a/arch/powerpc/kernel/sysfs.c
+++ b/arch/powerpc/kernel/sysfs.c
@@ -928,7 +928,8 @@ static int unregister_cpu_online(unsigned int cpu)
 	struct device_attribute *attrs, *pmc_attrs;
 	int i, nattrs;
 
-	BUG_ON(!c->hotpluggable);
+	if (WARN_RATELIMIT(!c->hotpluggable, "cpu %d can't be offlined\n", cpu))
+		return -EBUSY;
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_PPC64
 	if (cpu_has_feature(CPU_FTR_SMT))