Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, has urged Nigerian youths protesting against hunger, hardship, and socio-economic policies to avoid actions that could undermine the objective of their demonstrations.
Speaking to newsmen on Monday, Falana emphasized the importance of maintaining the peaceful nature of the protests and warned against the involvement of thugs and undemocratic forces.
Falana expressed concern over reports of protesters brandishing Russian flags and chanting “Tinubu must go” in the Northern parts of the country.
He described the act of displaying the Russian flag during protests in Nigeria as an abuse of constitutional rights.
He stated, “Accordingly, the right to protest is required to be exercised peacefully within the ambit of the law.
Hence, section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020 has imposed a duty on the Nigeria Police Force to provide adequate security for citizens who may wish to participate in public meetings, rallies, and protests.
In many parts of the country, the Police provided adequate security for the #EndBadGovernance protesters, and in some cases, professionalism was glaringly on display.”
Falana highlighted his longstanding support for the constitutional right of Nigerians to protest, noting, “Having won the legal battle for the Nigerian people to exercise their constitutional right to protest against unpopular policies of the Government, I have supported the constitutional right from all walks of life to exercise the right to protest.”
However, he cautioned protesters to distance themselves from those seeking to exploit the demonstrations for undemocratic purposes, such as advocating for a military coup.
“It has become necessary to point out that calling for a military coup or waving the flag of Russia, a country that is noted for supporting unconstitutional change of government in Africa, constitutes a gross abuse of the constitutional right to protest against the Government of Nigeria,” he said.
Falana urged that legitimate protests against economic hardship should not be transformed into campaigns for unconstitutional changes in government.
He warned, “Those who are involved in the illegal campaign for another military rule are advised to stop it forthwith.
Otherwise, they may be accused of engaging in the offence of treasonable felony in contravention of section 41 of the Criminal Code Act.”
He concluded by calling on the Bola Tinubu administration to address the root causes of the protests.
“In order to make any form of unconstitutional change of government unattractive to the people of Nigeria, the Bola Tinubu administration ought to review the neoliberal policies that are promoting poverty and hardship in the land,” Falana said.
