Falana Speaks On Why Nigeria’s Democracy Is Still Not Genuine

Femi Falana SAN, Human rights lawyer, has stated that Nigeria’s democracy cannot be described as genuine until the issue of insecurity has been resolved.

This he said yesterday while at a protest organized by the People’s Alternative Front which was held at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Lagos.

He called on the government to adequately fund the Nigeria Police Force to resolve the problem of insecurity in the country.

According to him: “Nigeria is in a crisis of terrorism, banditry and armed robbery. And unless these problems are addressed, we cannot have genuine democracy in our country.

“There is no democracy in the country and so, we are not in the position to join public offices at the stadia today to celebrate democracy.

“Section 14 of the Constitution provides that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

“We want the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) to be adequately funded, equipped and motivated so that the security of our people can be guaranteed.”

“We do not want military involvement in the security of the country. Under the Constitution, the Military is to defend the territorial integrity of the country, while the Police Force is obligated to discharge internal security.

“It is part of the legacy of Military dictatorship that the government has abandoned the Nigerian Police Force and is currently using the Armed Forces to secure the country, including the management of elections,” he said.