Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on President Bola Tinubu to address the demands of the peaceful protesters, stating that the President’s recent speech failed to meet their expectations.
Falana emphasized that the government must take concrete steps to address the protesters’ demands, including reducing fuel subsidies, improving living standards, cutting governance costs, and tackling insecurity. He suggested that processing crude oil in government-owned refineries could eliminate the need for fuel subsidies.
Falana commended the protesters for bringing attention to the plight of millions of Nigerians and demanded the immediate release of arrested protesters, who he said had not committed any criminal offense. He also condemned the repression of peaceful protesters and called for commissions of inquiry to investigate the killings and bring perpetrators to justice.
The lawyer emphasized that participation in peaceful protests should never be criminalized in Nigeria and urged the government to compensate the families of deceased protesters and celebrate them as heroes of the struggle for the emancipation of the Nigerian people.
