FG Can’t Declare War On South-East Without National Assembly – Falana

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has said the Federal Government can’t declare war on any section of the country.

Falana said this at the South-West zonal public hearing on the Constitution Review organised by the House of Representatives.

He was speaking in reaction to a threat by President Muhammadu Buhari to deal with agitators in the South-East.

He said, “Under the constitution, section 305, the President cannot declare a war on any part of Nigeria without the approval of the National Assembly. A state of emergency must be declared. None has been declared in the South-East. Therefore, the ongoing killings in the South-East cannot be justified under the constitution.”

“We want to appeal to members of the National Assembly to urgently pass a resolution requesting the President to stop the ongoing war in the South-East of Nigeria.

“We therefore appeal to the so-called gunmen and the Nigerian armed forces to stop killings on both sides and allow the governors to address the challenges of misgovernance, injustice, lopsided appointments and nepotistic control of the country,” he added.