Human rights lawyer Femi Falana criticized the recent arraignment of minors for treason over their involvement in #EndBadGovernance protests.
In August, authorities arrested several children seen hoisting Russian flags in northern states and subsequently charged them before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Following widespread public backlash, the administration of President Bola Tinubu eventually withdrew the case on humanitarian grounds.
Falana argued that “it is not an offence in Nigeria to hoist the flag of any country.” He pointed out that many hotels display foreign flags, and some large churches also display flags of Israel and other countries.
“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, United Kingdom because they want to look international,” he said.
“Some churches in Nigeria, believing erroneously that Israel is a Christian country, hoist the flag of Israel. So it is not a criminal offence.”
When asked if the inscriptions displayed by the protesters demanding the removal of the President, the learned silk explained that their action was not tantamount to treason.”
Rather, he stated that the government ought to have addressed the issues raised by the protesters during their nationwide demonstrations.
“If a democratically elected government is asked to leave office, you might say they are expressing their views. The armed forces did very well by saying ‘We are going to involve ourselves in the removal of the President. We are loyal to the Constitution, we are loyal to the President.’
“It is the government now that is trying to remind people. Government should have ignored and then addressed the issues that led people to the streets,” he added.
