Femi Falana has accused the Nigerian army of breaching the fundamental human rights– The lawyer has reminded that the army leadership have no right to try or investigte a person unless he or she is a serving military personnelFemi Falana, a Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, has harshly criticised the Nigerian army actions ofdeclaring three persons — Ahmad Salkida, a journalist; Aisha Wakil, a lawyer; and Ahmed Bolori, a social worker — wanted.READ ALSO: See what Nigerian troops did to cattle rustlers in Zamfara in a fresh raid (Photos)The trio was ordered to visit the Nigerian army headquarters as they were suspected of having links with Boko Haram terrorists and possess information on the Chibok girls location.In a statement issued on Monday, Mr. Falana has stressed that only the Nigeria police force and the state security service are eligible to declare civilians wanted.He added:“Thus, by declaring the three persons wanted without any legal authority the army has usurped the statutory powers of both the Police and the SSS. In the process it has breached the fundamental rights of the ‘suspects’ to personal liberty, dignity of the person and fair hearing guaranteed by the Constitution.”The honourable lawyer described the army’s approach as “ultra vires, illegal and unconstitutional in every material particular.”READ ALSO: Top 5 prison breaks in Nigeria since 2007 (No 1 had the most casualties)“Realizing that we are under a constitutional democracy which requires that the infringement of the rights of any citizen be justified in law, the army has relied on the provisions of the country’s anti terrorism legislation.Since the wanted persons are not serving military personnel who are subject to service law they cannot be investigated or tried under the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 LFN, 2004. Furthermore, under the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 as amended the army has not been authorized to perform any duty whatsoever,”he concluded.Meanwhile, the president has expressed his desire to consider the possibility ofbringing the Chibok girls back home abducted two years ago for a number of Boko Haram leaders in detention.
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