Renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, issued a cautionary statement on Tuesday, urging protesters participating in the nationwide hunger protest to be vigilant against “undemocratic forces” that may attempt to hijack the movement to advocate for a military coup in Nigeria, as reported by Channels Television.
Falana’s warning comes in response to an incident on Sunday in Kano State, where some protesters were seen waving Russian flags and chanting in Hausa, “We don’t want bad government.”
While emphasizing the constitutional rights of Nigerians to peaceful assembly, as enshrined in sections 39 and 40 of the constitution, Falana stated, “We support the #EndBadGovernance protesters’ right to peaceful protest, but we also have a patriotic duty to urge them to disassociate themselves from undemocratic elements that have exploited the protests to incite violence or promote a military coup in the country.
“It has become necessary to point out that calling for a military coup or waving the flag of Russia, a country known for supporting unconstitutional changes of government in Africa, constitutes a gross abuse of the constitutional right to protest against the Government of Nigeria.
“The legitimate protests against hardship in the land should not be turned into a campaign for an unconstitutional change of government.”
The legal practitioner further warned “those involved in the illegal campaign for another military rule,” adding that “they may be accused of engaging in the offence of treasonable felony in contravention of section 41 of the Criminal Code Act.”
Falana urged the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to “review the neoliberal policies promoting poverty and hardship in the country,” which he said would “make any form of unconstitutional change of government unattractive” to Nigerians.
He cited, for instance, that the “Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited should negotiate lower prices for petroleum products since the Federal Executive Council has directed that 445,000 barrels of crude oil be allocated daily and sold to the Dangote Refinery in naira.”
In late July 2024, the President directed the NNPC to sell crude oil to Dangote Refinery and other upcoming refineries in naira.
This was announced by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, who stated that the move would ensure the stability of the pump price of refined fuel and the dollar-naira exchange rate.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, after a meeting of the National Security Council chaired by the President at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Monday, noted that it was a “treasonable offence” to display Russian flags in Nigeria.
He added that the Nigerian military would not accept such acts.
