Nigeria’s second civil war has started already — Femi Falana

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says the 2023 general elections could be jeopardised because some parts of the country are experiencing what he described as civil war.

The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said this on Thursday while speaking at the south-west constitution review public hearing in Lagos.

Falana said Nigeria is on the brink of collapse and asked the ruling class to advise President Muhammadu Buhari on what he must do to “quickly reclaim this country”.

Indeed, Nigeria has been battling a spike in violence in recent months.

In the north, residents remain at the mercy of Boko Haram insurgents and bandits while security agencies and government facilities are increasingly becoming targets of attacks by gunmen in the south.

The offices of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) have not been spared — seven of them have so far been razed this year.

Falana said there must be peace and stability in the country for the ongoing constitutional amendment to be meaningful.

“Time is not on the side of the ruling class, as we are gathered here, in some parts of the country — south-east, north-east, north-west — a civil war is going on. In fact, in some parts of the country, the 2023 elections are already in jeopardy,” he said.

“INEC offices are being burnt, police stations are being burnt. In that kind of atmosphere, we cannot pretend that there is political stability in our country.

“I, therefore, plead with you when you return to Abuja, invite the president and ask him what we can do very quickly to reclaim this country, which currently is on the verge of collapse.

“For the constitutional amendment to be meaningful, there must be peace and stability, and you can only have peace and stability when you address the problems confronting the people.

“If you don’t want people to break away from Nigeria, you must give them confidence.”