In a Friday opinion post, he made the judgement and labelled the development as “anti-democratic.”

As Nigerians prepare to the polls, human rights attorney Femi Falana has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to demilitarise the nation and send soldiers to their barracks.

In a Friday opinion post, he made the judgement and labelled the development as “anti-democratic.”

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He cited various instances when the courts determined that the military should have less influence over the political process and added, “The civilian authorities should be left to conduct and completely carry out the electoral processes at all levels.”

In light of the aforementioned, President Buhari shouldn’t permit the use of the armed forces in the election’s administration.

“Armed soldiers should be kept in their barracks and placed on alert rather than terrorising voters. The Inspector-General of Police should deploy the police, anti-graft organisations, and paramilitary forces to preserve law and order during the 2023 General Election because the Federal Government has restricted people’s freedom of movement throughout the nation.

‘It is incumbent to the police to preserve our embryonic democracy and not the military, else democracy can be wittingly or unintentionally militarised,’ the Court of Appeal stated in Yussuf v. Obasanjo (supra). When the civilian population seized control from the military in 1999, they did not bargain for this.