Falana states that displaying foreign flags during protests is not a criminal offense

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has said that it is not an offence in Nigeria to hoist the flag of any country.

Falana made this statement on Channels Television’s Politics Today, condemning the recent arraignment of minors involved in the recent #EndBadGovernance protests for treason.

The Newsmen recalls in August, the government arrested some children who were seen hoisting Russian flags in some northern states and charged them before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

After a series of backlash that trailed the arraignment, the President Bola Tinubu administration later struck out the case before the court, citing humanitarian grounds.

The senior lawyer pointed out that while some hotels hoist foreign flags, some big churches also display flags of Israel and some 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.

“Some churches in Nigeria, believing erroneously that Israel is a Christian country, hoist the flag of Israel. So it is not a criminal offence,” he said.

Speaking on the inscriptions displayed by the protesters demanding the removal of the president, the human rights activist explained that their action was not tantamount to treason, stating 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. The government should have ignored and then addressed the issues that led people to the streets,” he added.