#EndSARS: Treating Protests as Treason Against Nigeria’s Constitution, Says Legal Practitioner Oshoma

There are calls for the Nigerian government to desist treating fresh demonstrations in the country as treason as such move will be against the country’s constitution.

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Liborous Oshoma, a legal practitioner was a guest on ARISE News and noted that the Nigerian Police should consistently engage citizens to address the issues raised during the #EndSARS protest as

The federal government had recently said it will treat any fresh demonstration particularly if it threatens to disrupt peace and security of any part of the country, as high treason aimed at unconstitutional regime change.

Liborous Oshoma, a legal practitioner was a guest on ARISE News and noted that calls by the police hierarchy to deal with fresh protests as treason runs against the country’s constitution.

Meanwhile, the warning by the federal government comes at a time promoters of the protests have been flagging a second installment, barely a month after government and private properties were looted when the process was hijacked by hoodlums.

“Since I read that statement, I have been trying to actually pigeonhole how a protest can be read as treason even when properties are burnt, you can only charge those persons for arson.

“If you charge them for treason, what you have done is that you are giving the defense lawyer a leeway to ensure that all of those people you’ve charged escape the consequences of their action. If you look at sections of the constitution, section 40 guarantees freedom of assembly, section 41 guarantees freedom of movement, so you now begin to wonder where the police got that from,” Mr. Oshoma told ARISE News.

“The police should consistently engage the people because the issues that were raised during the protest are very germane. The consequences of all of these are the fact that even the police admitted that there was a need to actually reform the police and look at the whole issues that led to the protests and how it can be averted.

“But for the police rather than consistent engagement with stakeholders, with the people, for the same Police that has a human rights department to ensure people’s rights are obeyed and respected, for that same police to say enforcing one of the fundamental human rights is treason brings to question the kind of the quality of education that is available to our police mane and women.”

By Abel Ejikeme

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