Femi Falana (SAN) has faulted the claim of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) that the minors involved in the #EndBadGovernance protest were properly charged before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Falana says that the Federal High Court does not have exclusive jurisdiction to try treason and related offences and even if there was a reasonable suspicion that the minors committed treason they ought to have been arraigned instead in a Family Court pursuant to section 149 of the Child’s Rights Act.
In a statement titled, “ILLEGALITY OF CHARGING PROTESTERS WITH TERRORISM AND TREASON,” Falana reviewed the attempted criminalization of peaceful protests in Nigeria by what he called “a government that is completely intolerant of criticism in a democratic society.”
He noted that by the provision of Sections 39 and 40 of the Constitution as well as Articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, 2004, the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens to assemble and protest against unpopular policies of governments are guaranteed.
Falana said despite these provisions and the decision of the court of appeal, the Nigerian lawmakers have ignored the directives to amend the Public Order Act to facilitate the enjoyment of the fundamental right to peaceful protests by aggrieved citizens.
According to Falana, the police in breach of the right to protest also killed not less than 22 protesters by the end of the recent protest.
The senior advocate also touched on the evidence of the police and submitted that the police prosecutor ought to have known that it is not a criminal offence to waive a foreign flag in Nigeria.
He concluded that it is crystal clear that the Federal Government set out to use the case of the 130 protesters to discourage Nigerians from protesting against the harsh living conditions and since the plan boomeranged, the Federal Government should be advised to appreciate that charging protesters with terrorism, treason, treasonable felony, and allied offences will not cow Nigerians to submission.
Falana also advised the police to henceforth comply with the law by providing adequate security for protesters as this is the only means of ensuring that protests are conducted in a peaceful and civilised manner within the ambit of the law.
