Falana Asks FG To Halt Court Martial Of 36 Alleged Coup Plotters, Demands Trial At Federal High Court

Falana Asks FG to Halt Court Martial of 36 Alleged Coup Plotters, Demands Trial at Federal High Court Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on the Federal Government to suspend the planned court martial proceedings against 36 alleged coup plotters, insisting that they should instead be prosecuted before the Federal High Court. Falana, in a statement made available to journalists, urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to exercise his constitutional powers under Section 174 by discontinuing what he described as an “illegal charge” before the General Court Martial. He argued that the Attorney-General should rather proceed to file charges against the accused military officers at the Federal High Court. “I am compelled to call on the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to exercise his powers under Section 174 of the Constitution by terminating the illegal charge before the General Court Martial. Thereafter, the Attorney-General should proceed to charge the 36 accused military officers before the Federal High Court,” Falana stated. The senior lawyer maintained that the planned trial of the officers by a military tribunal is unconstitutional, stressing that offences such as treason and terrorism fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. Falana further argued that proceeding with separate trials for the same alleged offences six suspects at the Federal High Court and 36 others before a court martial violates the principle of equality before the law. He added that under Nigeria’s current constitutional framework, military courts lack the competence to try offences of treason or treasonable felony, noting that such matters must be handled by civilian courts.

Falana also recalled that even during past military regimes, coup related offences were not tried by General Court Martial, but by special tribunals, and stressed that since the return to democratic rule in 1999, such cases must strictly follow constitutional provisions. He therefore urged the Federal Government to ensure a uniform prosecution process for all suspects in accordance with the law.