Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has condemned the recent prosecution of minors for alleged treason over their involvement in the #EndBadGovernance protests, stressing that hoisting foreign flags, including those of other nations, is not a criminal offence in Nigeria.
In August, authorities detained several children who were seen displaying Russian flags in certain northern states and subsequently charged them before the Federal High Court in Abuja. After public backlash, the administration of President Bola Tinubu withdrew the charges on humanitarian grounds.
During an interview today, Falana argued that displaying foreign flags does not violate any Nigerian law. “It is not a criminal offence in Nigeria to raise any country’s flag.
If you don’t believe it, go out there. Any hotel hoists the flag of the United States, or United Kingdom because they want to look international,” he explained. He added that some Nigerian churches also display the Israeli flag, mistakenly believing Israel to be a Christian country. “So it is not a criminal offence,” Falana emphasized.
When asked about the protesters’ calls for the President’s removal, Falana clarified that such expressions do not amount to treason. He argued that the government should have addressed the issues highlighted by the protesters rather than resorting to prosecution.
“If a democratically elected government is asked to leave office, you might say they are expressing their views,” he said, commending the military’s response. “The armed forces did very well by saying, ‘We are not going to involve ourselves in the removal of the President. We are loyal to the Constitution, we are loyal to the President.’”
Falana concluded that the government should have ignored the protests and instead worked on addressing the underlying grievances that prompted people to demonstrate nationwide.
