Falana Condemns Mass Arrests And Legal Denials During #EndBadGovernance Protests In Nigeria

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Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has disclosed that 2,111 protesters were arrested during the 10-day #EndBadGovernance demonstrations across Nigeria, which took place from August 1st to 10th.

According to Falana, 1,403 of these individuals have been arraigned in various courts and are currently remanded in prison due to a lack of legal representation. He also highlighted that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has publicly announced its commitment to providing legal defense for the arrested protesters.

In a strongly-worded statement titled "Halt the Clampdown on Protesters," Falana criticized the government's actions, insisting that whenever suspects are to be arraigned, they must be given sufficient notice to contact the NBA and their families to arrange for legal defense.

Falana also brought attention to the arrest of seven Polish students in Kano, who were detained for taking photographs during the protests and could potentially face espionage charges. He suggested that the government might be attempting to portray the protests as foreign-instigated.

Furthermore, Falana provided a detailed breakdown of the distribution of protesters arrested across various states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. He demanded that the government bring formal charges against the detained individuals.

Of particular concern to Falana was the arrest of 783 suspects in Kano, who were allegedly detained for displaying the Russian flag during the protests. He questioned the legality of such charges in Nigeria, where flags of other nations are routinely hoisted by hotels and churches.

Falana emphasized that the refusal to provide legal representation to these suspects is a blatant violation of their fundamental right to a fair hearing, as guaranteed by Section 36 of the Constitution and Article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act.

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