Femi Falana (SAN), a popular human rights activist and attorney, has, in view of the comment from Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, emphasized that no reasonable Nigerian would go out to protest and damage the government’s property.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE....CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE
During a Channels Television interview, Falana said that the freedom to demonstrate is an essential component of democracy and applauded the IGP for acknowledging this.
He underlined that the Police Establishments Act requires the police to protect protesters and give them proper protection.
Falana, for private reasons, declined to comment on FCT Minister Nyesom Wike’s comments. He decided to highlight the IGP’s poised and responsible handling of the scheduled protest.
He also pleaded with protesters to use their rights peacefully and refrain from causing violence or destruction of government property. He conveyed his confidence that sensible Nigerians would not act destructively while protesting.>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
This happened as several organizations prepared a statewide protest known as “10 Days of Rage” to protest Nigeria’s economic suffering and skyrocketing cost of living. This protest is scheduled to start from August 1 to August 10.
Nigerians have been urged by the government to call off the protest. However, Falana’s comments highlighted how crucial it is to defend citizens’ freedom of speech and right to peaceful assembly.
In Falana’s words, “I’m going to react to the second statement of the Inspector General of Police only. I’m not going to join issues with Mr. Nyesom Wike for personal reasons.”
“The IG has spoken very maturely, and according to him, it’s the constitutional right of Nigerians to protest, and nobody can take that away from us, but the IG has said it must not snowball into violence.”
“This is where duty has been placed on the police under the Police Establishments Act to find where protesters would like to go and ensure that adequate security is provided.”
“I’m also sure no reasonable Nigerian would go out to protest with a view of damaging government property.“>>>CONTINUE FULL READING HERE
