By Ayo Kehinde
Fiery human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr Femi Falana has joined words with the Nigeria Police, describing their statement on the planned ‘revolution’ for Monday, August 5, “as quite embarrassing”.
Speaking in an interview with Objective TV media, monitored in Lagos, he said he knows that one of the arrested leaders of the Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria, which planned a “Revolution Now” in Nigeria from August 5″, Mr Omoyele Sowore” has been moved by the police and officials of the DSS from Lagos to Abuja and expects that he would by law be arraigned today, Monday.
He said: “I am aware of the planned public protest slated for Monday, August 5 2091. I was not quite surprised that the state security service picked him up ( Sowore) because we are under a government that has come to the conclusion, a very dangerous one at that, that every criticism, every opposition is treasonable and classified as terrorism and those behind such opposition would be crushed. I have been in touch with the officials of the DSS and I know that he has been moved from Lagos to Abuja.”
He said arrangements have been concluded to defend him in Abuja.
In a statement, the Police said, “The attention of the Nigeria Police Force has been drawn to a video circulating on the social media by the ‘Global Coalition for Security and Democracy in Nigeria and others’, inciting Nigerians, home and abroad, to join a planned ‘revolution’ march against the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Monday, 5th August, 2019 with the sole aim of forcing a regime change in the country.
“The Force wishes to state unequivocally that the call amounts to treasonable felony and acts of terrorism and will therefore not stand idly by and watch any individual or group in the society cause anarchy in the land.
“While acknowledging the rights of Nigerians to embark on protest, the Force wishes to note that such rights should not translate to a violent and forceful change of government which clearly is the meaning of ‘revolution’.
According to Falana: ” I have read the statement and I think the extrapolation by the Police is quite embarrassing and I am sure the name ascribed to revolution by the police would embarrass the government because neither under the Criminal Code Act nor under the Terrorism Act is the word revolution criminalised. In after the general elections in 2015, the APC was proud that when it was said it had led the Nigeria democratic revolution which unseated the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. In May this year the Senate debated Senator Utasi’s motion calling on the legislators that a looming revolution in Nigeria was looming and there were candidates during the 2019 elections calling on Nigerians to cause a revolution on the day of the election by unseating the All Progressives Congress, APC So it is not the word, revolution that would lead to a crime in the country. Treason and treasonable felonies as well as terrorism are clearly defined under our law.
“Treason is the levy of war to intimidate the president or governor of a state, while treasonable felony is the formation of the intension to remove the president of the country while in office or by constitution means. I have read the demands of the organisers of this protest and I cannot identify any aspect of it that can be classified as terrorist of treasonable. In any case Sections 39 and 40 of theConstitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has recognised the fundamental right of any Nigerian to assemble with others and protest for or against the government.
“Incidentally when Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, has their rally in Kano disrupted on September, 2003, I was briefed to challenge the action of the Police and from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal we won the case and that was when the court declared police permit for protests and demonstration illegal and unconstitutional In Nigeria. In fact the law has gine beyond that. In 2015, the National Assembly amended the Electoral Act that notwithstanding the provisions of the Public Order Act and other laws in the country, during protests that police shall provide security for the conveners and the participants. So what is required of the Nigeria Police Force on Monday is to endure the protestants are protected. That is what the law says not what me, Femi Falana, says. In November 2014, Buhari led a protests wherein, he and other leaders of APC protested against insecurity in the country, so if other Nigerians are protesting against the worsening insecurity in the country on Monday, demanding job creation for the army of unemployed youths, if they are challenging income disparity in the country and payment of N30,000 minimum wage, those demands cannot be classified as mutinous of treasonable….”
