Femi Falana has warned the police to either charge protesters in their custody to court or face legal action, emphasizing the need for lawful handling of detentions.
Femi Falana, an advocate for rights, has urged the Nigeria Police to arraign the imprisoned protesters in court prior to August 25th or be subjected to legal consequences.
In addition, the lawyer alleged that the authorities hindered protesters from obtaining lawful counsel which resulted in them being imprisoned.
In a statement titled “Stop the Crackdown on Protesters”, Falana issued an ultimatum.
“Of the 2,111 suspects arrested,” he stated, “1,403 have been brought before various courts. Unfortunately, due to inadequate legal representation for these individuals they were ordered to be held in prison custody.”
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Despite the Nigerian Bar Association’s public announcement of providing lawyers to defend them, legal representation was refused for the suspects.
Individual lawyers who had applied for the bail of detained suspects in police stations were not notified about their arraignment in court, as we have confirmed.
Our argument is that the authorities’ denial of legal representation to the suspects is a clear violation of their basic right to receive a fair trial, which is safeguarded by section 36 of the Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. This constitutes an act of violence against their fundamental rights.
The practice of giving advance notice to politically exposed individuals, who have been arrested for looting the treasury with billions in Naira is discriminatory and unlawful. These suspected high-ranking thieves are frequently granted bail on generous conditions by trial judges and may even be allowed travel overseas for medical reasons.
