Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has accused police officers of using expired teargas during a protest against illegal demolitions and forced evictions in the Makoko waterfront area of Lagos.
Falana described the action of the police as unlawful, dangerous and a breach of the right of citizens to gather peacefully.
He spoke at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, where he visited protesters who were injured during the demonstration.
The protest was organised by activists Hassan Taiwo, also known as Soweto, and Dele Frank to draw the attention of the Lagos State Government to alleged unlawful demolitions and evictions affecting waterfront communities.
The protest reportedly started without trouble but later turned chaotic after police officers fired teargas at close range.
Several protesters were injured during the incident, a development that has drawn criticism from human rights groups and civil society organisations.
At LASUTH, Falana was briefed on the condition of one of the injured protesters, Kafayat Muftaudeen, by a burns and plastic nurse, Adedeji Hassan.
The nurse explained that Muftaudeen suffered a serious injury to her leg and had been discharged but would continue treatment through regular wound dressing and weekly hospital visits before surgery.
He said she was stable enough to return home and would later undergo skin grafting after the wound had healed.
According to him, the decision to discharge her was not related to money issues, as recovery could be better handled at home with medical supervision.
Hassan also disclosed that another protester who was injured during the protest and whose condition was shown in a video aired by CNN had also been discharged from the hospital.
After inspecting the injuries, Falana described what he saw as disturbing and unusual.
He said that in his more than 40 years of participating in protests across the country, he had never witnessed teargas canisters causing such severe injuries.
He suggested that the injuries raised concerns that expired teargas may have been used.
Falana reminded authorities that the 1999 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, adding that Nigerians do not need police permits to stage protests.
He referred to a Court of Appeal ruling which affirmed the right of citizens to protest peacefully and ruled that police permits for protests were outdated.
He explained that the Police Establishment Act only requires protest organisers to notify the police, who are then expected to provide security.
According to him, the organisers followed the law, noting that police officers escorted the protesters peacefully from Ikeja Under Bridge to the Alausa Secretariat.
He said tension arose when no government official came out to receive a letter addressed to the Lagos State Governor, after which the police allegedly used teargas on the protesters over songs they considered offensive.
Falana maintained that singing abusive or vulgar songs is not a crime under Nigerian law and said public officials must be open to criticism in a democratic system.
He urged authorities to learn from the incident and respect the rights of citizens, warning against the use of force to silence peaceful protests.
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