Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has criticised plans to try 36 alleged coup plotters before a military court, calling the move unconstitutional and urging the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, to step in immediately.
In a statement on Thursday, Falana urged the AGF to use his constitutional powers under Section 174 to discontinue what he described as an “illegal charge” before the General Court Martial and instead bring the accused officers before the Federal High Court.
He argued that Section 251 of the 1999 Constitution gives the Federal High Court exclusive jurisdiction over offences such as treason, treasonable felony, and terrorism. According to him, trying some suspects in a military court while others face a civil court violates the principle of equality before the law.
Falana also said the General Court Martial is not legally competent to handle such serious offences within Nigeria’s democratic system. He noted that even during military rule, coup suspects were not tried by military courts but by special tribunals.
He maintained that since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, all treason-related cases must be handled strictly by the Federal High Court, warning that any deviation would breach the Constitution.