Prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has cautioned the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, against involving the police in the ongoing dispute between him and the Senator representing Kogi Central, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Falana issued the warning following a petition by Akpabio to the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, in which he accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of defamation.
Akpabio is seeking the prosecution of the Kogi Central senator over comments she allegedly made during a political rally.
The Senate President claimed that Akpoti-Uduaghan’s allegations of an assassination plot were “entirely false, unfounded and politically motivated.”
He called for an investigation and subsequent prosecution of the senator for “criminal defamation, incitement, false accusation, and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace.”
However, Falana, in a statement issued on Friday, argued that the matter was civil in nature and should not be criminalised.
Citing the 1985 Court of Appeal judgment in Arthur Nwankwo v The State, Falana stated that public officers must desist from using state machinery to harass or intimidate political opponents.
Quoting the late Justice Olajide Olatawura, Falana said: “Let us not diminish from the freedom gained from our colonial masters by resorting to laws enacted by them to suit their purpose. The decision of the founding fathers of this present Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech — which must include freedom to criticise — should be praised, and any attempt to derogate from it, except as provided by the Constitution, must be resisted.
“Those in public office should not be intolerant of criticism. Where a writer exceeds the bounds, there should be a resort to the law of libel, where the plaintiff must of necessity put his character and reputation in issue.”
He urged Akpabio to seek redress through a libel suit in a competent court, rather than resorting to criminal prosecution, which, according to him, could amount to an abuse of power.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria maintained that the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution must be protected — particularly in political discourse — warning against the erosion of civil liberties through the use of police intervention in political disagreements.
