Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Femi Falana, a Nigerian human rights lawyer, says military officers accused of plotting a coup against the administration of Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should not face a court-martial under the country’s democratic system.
Falana said the proper route is prosecution in civilian courts, as laid out by Nigeria’s constitution and criminal laws. Okay News reports that he made the point during an interview on national television while responding to public debate about how alleged coup attempts should be handled in a democracy.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has been under civilian rule since 1999 after long periods of military government. Falana argued that this constitutional setting matters when allegations involve an attempt to remove an elected government.
“We are under a democratic government, and as far as the constitution is concerned, we have to take them to a high court,” Falana said.
He added that a court-martial is not appropriate in such a case because the allegation is not about trying to topple a military ruler. “The soldiers cannot be court-martialed, they are not trying to remove a military dictator. It’s an attempt to remove an elected government, a constitutional government, to disrupt the constitutional arrangement,” he stated.
Falana explained that court-martial proceedings are mainly designed to deal with breaches of military discipline and offences that fall within the chain of command and internal rules of the armed forces.
However, he said that when an alleged act amounts to treason or an attempt to overthrow a democratically elected government, it goes beyond military discipline and becomes a constitutional offence against the state, which should be handled by civilian judges.
He warned that using military tribunals for such cases could conflict with democratic standards and weaken the principle that the constitution is the highest authority in the country.
“Treason and treasonable felony are offenses clearly defined under Nigerian law and fall squarely within the jurisdiction of civilian courts,” Falana maintained.
