Activist-lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), yesterday condemned the use of teargas by the police on protesters during last week’s demonstration against alleged illegal demolitions and forced evictions in the Makoko waterfront area of Lagos.
He described the police action as unconstitutional, dangerous and a violation of citizens’ fundamental rights.
He spoke with journalists during a visit to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), where some of the injured protesters are receiving medical treatment.
Briefing Falana on the condition of one of the victims, a burns and plastic nurse, Mr. Adedeji Hassan, said Mrs. Kafayat Muftaudeen, who sustained a severe leg injury, was being discharged but would continue treatment through regular wound dressing and weekly hospital visits ahead of surgery.
He explained that she was fit to return home and would visit the hospital weekly for dressing until the wound healed, after which she would undergo skin grafting.
“When the wound is fully healed, she will come back for skin grafting. We will take skin from another part of her body to cover the defect,” Hassan said.
Hassan added that Mrs. Muftaudeen was being discharged with her medications and would be monitored by a medical colleague living near her residence.
“Some people recover better at home, in an environment they are used to,” he said.
He also disclosed that another protester, Mr. Ajayi, who sustained injuries during the protest, had been discharged. Ajayi was the individual whose injuries were shown in footage aired by CNN.
Falana argued that the Nigerian Constitution clearly guarantees freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, stressing that the police had no legal justification for attacking the protesters.
“My position is that the Constitution of Nigeria has guaranteed freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” he said.
He recalled the decision of the Court of Appeal in All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) v. Inspector-General of Police, which affirmed the right of Nigerians to protest peacefully and directed the National Assembly to enact laws to protect that right.
According to him, those protections were reinforced by the Police Establishment Act.
Falana said: “The Police Establishment Act provides that those who want to protest are only required to notify the police.
“Once the police command is notified, adequate security must be provided.”
He said the organisers of the Makoko protest complied with the law by notifying the police in advance and were escorted peacefully from the Ikeja Under Bridge to the Alausa Secretariat.
“From Ikeja Under Bridge up to Alausa, the protesters marched peacefully without disturbing anybody,” he said.
Falana said the situation changed when no government official came out to receive a letter addressed to the Lagos State Governor.
“The protesters sang some songs which the police considered offensive, and at that stage decided, at very close range, to teargas the protesters,” he said.
He expressed concern over the nature of the injuries sustained by some demonstrators, describing them as unusual.
“The injury I’ve seen is not normal. I’ve taken part in protests in this country for over 40 years.”
I’ve never seen a situation where a teargas canister would pierce somebody’s skin to that level,” Falana said.
He suggested that expired teargas canisters may have been used during the operation.
Falana stressed that singing abusive or vulgar songs does not constitute a criminal offence under Nigerian law.
“It is not the law in Nigeria that you will be brutalised for singing abusive songs,” he said.
He cited a Court of Appeal decision which held that public officers must tolerate criticism in a democratic society.
“If a public officer is too sensitive or irascible, the court advised that he should cover his ears with cotton wool,” Falana said.
He rejected claims that protesters require police permission before demonstrating, describing such a requirement as a relic of colonialism.
“You do not need a police permit to protest. All the law requires is notification, and the police are duty-bound to provide security,” he said.
Falana said the essence of protest is to draw attention to grievances.
“If you confine protesters to a corner, how would the government know that people are protesting?” he asked.
He expressed hope that lessons would be learnt from the incident, warning against the erosion of constitutional rights.
The protest was organised by activists Comrade Hassan Taiwo, popularly known as Soweto, and Mr. Dele Frank, to demand an end to demolition exercises affecting waterfront communities.
The demonstration was intended to draw the attention of the Lagos State Government to what organisers described as illegal demolitions and forced evictions. However, the protest later turned violent after police fired teargas at demonstrators, leaving several people injured and drawing condemnation from human rights groups.
