Civil rights lawyer and activist, Dele Farotimi, has criticised the Nigerian Police Force and the judiciary for allegedly undermining citizens’ constitutional rights to peaceful protest, saying their actions show that Nigeria is only “pretending to be a democracy.”
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Speaking on Channels Television’s breakfast programme, The Morning Brief, on Tuesday, Farotimi said that in a true democratic system, citizens should not require a police permit to stage a protest.
According to him, the police should only be notified to provide protection, not permission.
“In a democracy, there should never be a need for a police permit before you may have a protest,” Farotimi said.
“That a court would presume to curtail the right of citizens to protest peacefully in a democracy is even suggestive of the fact that we’re not in a democracy. We’re only mimicking and pretending to be in one.”
His comments followed Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanu protest in Abuja, where demonstrators led by activist Omoyele Sowore defied a police warning and a court order to stage protests in FCT before they were dispersed with teargas.
Farotimi condemned the police action and accused the judiciary of enabling executive overreach.
“It is completely unheard of that citizens in a democracy would need the permission of their paid employees—the police—before they can congregate peacefully.
“I’m sorry to say our judiciary is unfit for purpose. It does exactly as it is told by the executive and does not serve the cause of justice,” he said.
The activist maintained that only violent protesters should face arrest, not peaceful demonstrators.
He recalled his own experience of being prosecuted under what he described as a “non-existent law.”
“I have been the victim of a court case that trailed me and remanded me on a non-existent law.
“So what kind of court order is going to stop citizens who are not out for violence from peacefully showing their displeasure with the government?” he queried.
Farotimi further argued that the government’s response to public dissent has consistently shown indifference, citing the 2020 EndSARS movement as an example.
“End SARS was rebranded as SWAT; now it’s RRS. The name changed, but the nature didn’t. The Nigerian state doesn’t change anything—it doesn’t listen,” he said. “When you protest in Nigeria, you’re talking to the deaf.”
Meanwhile, the Police Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, defended the police response, saying it was necessary to protect key national assets.
He said the Force only followed a court order restricting the #FreeNnamdiKanu protest from accessing key government areas in Abuja, insisting that its officers acted within the law and only used tear gas to disperse demonstrators.
He said this during an interview on Channels Television on Monday.
According to him, the order barred protesters from converging on or marching towards strategic areas, including the Aso Villa, Supreme Court, National Assembly, Eagles Square, and Shehu Shagari Way, among others.
“We got a court order specifically about this protest and restricting protests from certain areas like the Aso Villa, the Supreme Court, the National Assembly, Eagle Square, the Force Headquarters and Shagari Way. As a law enforcement agency, we are duty-bound to enforce that order,” Hundeyin said.
The #FreeNnamdiKanu protest was convened by Sowore, who had urged Nigerians to demand the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu has been in government’s custody since 2021, as he faces trial for terrorism related charges
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