Renowned human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has cautioned the Federal Government against the use of military court-martials to try officers and civilians allegedly involved in the October 2025 plot to topple the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

Following recent confirmations by the Defence Headquarters that 16 military officers and their civilian collaborators are set to face the music before a military tribunal, Falana contended that such a move is a legal erroneous belief that contradicts the 1999 Constitution.

He argued that while the military views the plot as an internal disciplinary matter, the intention to remove an elected President is a grave felony that falls strictly under the Criminal Code Act.

Falana said, “The alleged coup plotters can only be tried under Section 41 of the Criminal Code Act. This law stipulates that anyone intending to depose the President during his term of office is guilty of a felony and liable to life imprisonment.

“In a democratic dispensation, this is a matter for the Federal High Court, not a secret military panel.”

The Senior Advocate highlighted what he termed a history of obnoxious decrees used by past military dictators, such as Ibrahim Babangida, to execute rivals like General Mamman Vatsa.

He noted that the Treason and Treasonable Offences Decree No 29 of 1993, which previously empowered military tribunals, was repealed by General Abdulsalami Abubakar in 1999 to pave the way for civil rule.

To support his stance, Falana cited key legal milestones such as Section 251(2) of the 1999 Constitution which explicitly confers jurisdiction over treason and allied offences to the Federal High Court, the case of Umoru Mandara (1984) where the Supreme Court quashed a conviction because the trial court lacked proper jurisdiction, and a February 2025 ruling by the Supreme Court of Uganda which held that military courts lack the jurisdiction to try civilians, ordering all such trials to be moved to the civil system.

Falana pointed out that even the current President Bola Tinubu, when facing similar charges in 1994, was charged at the Federal High Court, not a military barracks.

Falana urged the military authorities to hand over the case files to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) immediately.

“The plot to sack a civilian regime is not a military affair. The Attorney-General must study the file and file charges of treasonable felony at the Federal High Court.

“To do otherwise is to return to the dark days of military decrees that have no place in our current law,” Falana concluded.

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