Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and human rights activist, Femi Falana, has said although it remains the fundamental human right of every Nigerian to protest for or against the government, it is a treasonable offense to campaign for a coup.

Speaking on Channels TV, Falana said the right to protest is required to be exercised peacefully within the ambit of the law. He said hence, section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020 has imposed a duty on the Nigeria Police Force to provide adequate security for citizens who may wish to participate in public meetings, rallies, and protests.

The activist explained that in many parts of the country, the police provided adequate security for the #EndBadGovernance protesters, and in some cases, professionalism was glaringly on display.

“Having won the legal battle for the Nigerian people to exercise their constitutional right to protest against unpopular policies of the government, I have supported the constitutional right from all walks of life to exercise the right to protest.

“While we have supported the right of the #endbadgovernance protesters, we have a patriotic duty to call on them to distance themselves from the undemocratic forces who have taken advantage of the peaceful protests to engage in violence or campaign for another military coup in the country.

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“It has become necessary to point out that calling for a military coup or waving the flag of Russia, a country that is noted for supporting unconstitutional change of government in Africa, constitutes a gross abuse of the constitutional right to protest against the Government of Nigeria.

“The legitimate protests against hardship in the land should not be turned into a campaign for unconstitutional change of government.

“Therefore, those who are involved in the illegal campaign for another military rule are advised to stop it forthwith. Otherwise, they may be accused of engaging in the offense of treasonable felony in contravention of section 41 of the Criminal Code Act.”

Falana said in order to make any form of unconstitutional change of government unattractive to the people of Nigeria, the Bola Tinubu administration ought to review the neoliberal policies that are promoting poverty and hardship in the land.

He noted that, for instance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited should negotiate lower prices of petroleum products since the Federal Executive Council has directed that 445,000 barrels of crude oil be allocated daily and sold to the Dangote Refinery in the Naira.