Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), Thursday told Nigerian Police force that it has no power to ban public protests in the country.
This is coming a day after the Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, had said that the police would not allow anyone to stage another #EndSARS protest ahead of the one-year anniversary of the protests of last year.
Reacting to Odumosu’s statement, the outspoken Lawyer in his statement titled: “NIGERIA POLICE FORCE LACKS POWER TO BAN PUBLIC PROTESTS IN NIGERIA”, opined: “In view of the threat of the authorities of the Nigeria Police Force to ban Nigerian citizens from exercising their fundamental rights to assemble and hold peaceful rallies to mark the first year anniversary of the #endsars protests it has become pertinent to draw attention to the current state of the law on public meetings, rallies and processions in the country.
“The threats against peaceful rallies oozing out of the Police Headquarters and State Commands are illegal as they constitute a gross infringement of the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly guaranteed by sections 38 and 40 of the Nigerian Constitution as well as articles 9 and 10 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act.”, it read in part
