Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Mr Femi Falana on Tuesday insinuated that President Muhammadu Buhari was trying to take Nigeria back to the pre-independence era by suppressing peaceful protesters just because they expressed their minds as guaranteed by the constitution.

Falana who spoke in a television interview monitored in Abuja said “the last time we had this kind of harassment of Nigerians over the use of the word revolution was in 1948 when members of the Zikist movement launched a movement demanding for a revolution to end ethnicization of politics.

“Even then, they were not charged for treason but for sedition.

“But the provision in the Criminal Code on sedition have now been declared illegal and unconstitutional since July 1993 by the Court of Appeal because the Constitution guarantees the freedom of Nigerians to expression and free speech.”

According to the human rights lawyer, “in 2011, General Buhari publicly recommended Egyptian style revolution for Nigeria. The President is now being challenged with his own involvement in protests in the past.

“Nigerians are now saying there must be consistency on the part of those now in government, some of whom were in NADECO and took part in protests with us.

“The last rally APC leaders organised in Abuja 2014 to protest against insecurity in the country and other Nigerians now are protesting against insecurity.

“You cannot clampdown on them and it is important for you to recognise our rights as yours was recognised.

“There can be no justification for what the government is doing now. I also think that the government has not been exposed to sound legal advice before embarking on clampdown on protesters.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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