Tear gas allegedly interrupted a pensioners’ protest in Alausa, Lagos, on Monday, prompting human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) to demand the arrest and prosecution of the officers involved.
The pensioners had gathered at the Lagos State Government Secretariat and the House of Assembly complex to push for outstanding pension adjustments and wage awards before the police dispersed the protest.
The development came amid a prolonged disagreement between retired Lagos public servants and the state government over pension increases, consequential adjustments and wage rewards which the retirees say remain unpaid.
The pensioners are, however, expected to meet Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu later in the week, after the protest reportedly attracted the attention of the Governor’s Office. The proposed meeting is expected to provide an opportunity for the retirees to present their demands directly to the governor and seek a resolution to the outstanding issues.
But the deployment of tear gas by the security agent has shifted attention to the conduct of the police, with Falana arguing that the pensioners were exercising a constitutionally protected right to peaceful assembly.
In a statement on Monday, Falana condemned the disruption and called on the Inspector-General of Police to identify and prosecute the officers responsible.
He said the Court of Appeal judgment in Inspector General of Police v All Nigerian People Party (2008) affirmed the right of Nigerians to organise rallies and demonstrations without first obtaining a police permit.
Quoting the judgment, Falana said Adekeye JCA held that: “A rally or placard carrying demonstration has become a form of expression of views on current issues affecting government and the governed in a sovereign state.
“It is a trend recognised and deeply entrenched in the system of governance in civilised countries – it will not only be primitive but also retrogressive if Nigeria continues to require a pass to hold a rally.
“We must borrow a leaf from those who have trekked the rugged path of democracy and are now reaping the dividend of their experience.”
Falana argued that the legal framework governing the police imposed an obligation on officers to protect peaceful gatherings rather than disperse them.
He cited Section 4 of the Nigeria Police Force Establishment Act 2020, which, according to him, requires the police officer responsible for an area where a rally, meeting or procession is taking place to mobilise personnel to provide security for the gathering.
“The violent disruption of the peaceful rally of pensioners at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos State is a complete violation of the rights of the protesters to assemble and protest against the failure of the Lagos State Government to pay their pension as and when due,” Falana said.
He described the police action as “a provocative breach” of Section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act, insisting that the officers could not justify the use of force against retirees exercising their right to protest.
“We call on the Inspector-General of Police to arrest and prosecute the police officers who violently disrupted the peaceful rally and thereby inflicted intentional physical bodily injury on the protesters without any legal justification whatsoever,” he said.
