Makoko Protest: Falana Suspects Expired Teargas Fired At Protesters

HUMAN rights and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has alleged expired teargas canisters were used by Police operatives during last week’s protest against demolitions and forced evictions in the Makoko waterfront area in Lagos State.
Speaking at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), during a visit to protesters injured during the protest, organised by activists, Hassan Taiwo, popularly known as Soweto, and Dele Frank, to draw the Lagos State Government’s attention to alleged unlawful demolitions and forced evictions affecting waterfront communities, Falana described the Police action as unconstitutional, dangerous and a violation of citizens’ right to peaceful assembly.
Recall that the protest was initially peaceful until Police operatives fired teargas at close range, leading to many protesters sustaining injuries.
Falana said in over 40 years of participating in protests across the country, he had never seen teargas canisters cause such severe injuries.
He said: “The injury I have seen is not normal,” suggesting that expired teargas canisters might have been deployed during the operation, despite constitution guarantees of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
The senior lawyer insisted that Nigerians do not require Police permits to protest, citing the Court of Appeal decision in All Nigeria Peoples Party v. Inspector General of Police, which affirmed the right of citizens to protest peacefully and described Police permit requirements as a relic of colonial rule.
Falana noted that the Police Establishment Act only requires protest organisers to notify the Police, who are then duty-bound to provide security, arguing thyat organisers complied with the law and Police officers escorted them peacefully from Ikeja Under Bridge to the Alausa Secretariat.
He explained that the situation changed when no government official came out to receive a letter addressed to the Lagos State Governor, and that the Police later fires teargas at the protesters over songs they considered offensive.
Falana insisted that singing abusive or vulgar songs does not constitute a criminal offence under Nigerian law, and that public officers must tolerate criticism in a democratic society.
He urged the authorities to learn from the incident and respect citizens’ fundamental rights, warning against the use of force to suppress peaceful protests.