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Plateau Attack: ‘Nigerians Have Right To Self-Defence’, Falana Faults Army Chief’s Statement On Arms Bearing
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja’s statement where he sounded his disapproval for citizens to bear arms following coordinated attacks on Plateau State during the Yuletide by assailants.
“I do not support that. I think that is a call for anarchy,” the Army chief said on Sunday on Channels Television’s end-of-year programme “2023: Year Of Transition”
In his reply to this, Falana on Wednesday during the Sunrise Breakfast show said “In the first place, it is not correct to say Nigerians have no right to bear arms, Apart from the fact that the penal code applicable in the North and the criminal code applicable in the South recognises the right to self-defence,”
“In the first place, we have to discuss the rights and proceed to examine the propriety.”
“In other words, if someone aims a gun at me, and I can quickly grab another gun, I have the right to shoot.”
Asked to clarify if the law allows for one to bear guns, the Senior Advocate replied in the affirmative however noting that one needs a gun licence.
“But you are required to apply for the licence first, “ he said
However, Falana sounded a note of caution as regards what the constitution mandates when it comes to self-defence
“I am just saying the right to self -defence which is also guaranteed by the constitution.
“All I am not allowed to do is not use a force that is not proportional to the threat.“
“In other words, If you are going to hit me with a cane I must not go for a gun which is not proportional,“ he said.
Calls For Right To Bear Arms
Falana’s support for the right to bear arms by citizens comes as several lawmakers and governors have also appealed to the Federal Government to allow its people to protect themselves from incursions by bandits and terror groups.
ln May, a former majority leader Alhassan Ado-Doguwa made a presentation on the floor of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, calling on the federal government to allow citizens to bear arms for self-defence.
“Nigerians at this moment should be allowed to take arms to defend their innocent souls, to defend their hard-earned resources and properties. Because it’s like a monumental failure,” said the lawmaker, who represented the Doguwa/Tudun Wada Federal Constituency of Kano State.
Ado-Doguwa made this remark on April 1 in reaction to the terrorist attack on the Abuja-Kaduna bound train days earlier, where up to 398 passengers were onboard.
Similarly, the former governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu had called on the FG to allow officers of the Western Nigeria Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps to bear arms
“If you can allow individuals to carry heavy arms to protect pipelines, why won’t you allow Amotekun to carry sophisticated weapons to protect the people? The oil facilities are not more important than the lives of the people,” he said.
Another former governor who shared the same opinion on the citizens obtaining arms to protect themselves was Zamfara’s Bello Matawalle who directed residents of the state to obtain guns to defend themselves against bandits who appeared to be ravaging the state.
“Government has henceforth, directed individuals to prepare and obtain guns to defend themselves against the bandits, as the government has directed the state commissioner of police to issue a license to all those who qualify and are wishing to obtain such guns to defend themselves,” a statement partly read
Matawalle’s directive was met with stiff opposition by the then Chief of Defence staff, Lucky Irabor, who said “I do not think that is the right way to go, The basis for asking citizens to bear arms; I am yet to know I believe that the Attorney General of the Federation will look at the constitution, what the laws say and what the powers of the Executive governor are to be able to do with this.”
The Zamfara State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party also opposed Matawalle’s directive to the people of the state saying it would only lead to anarchy.
“As peace-loving and law-abiding citizens, we fault Zamfara State and the Federal Government for shifting such constitutional responsibility to ordinary citizens,” a statement by the party’s representative read.
At a meeting at the State House with a delegation from Siemens Energy, led by Dietmar Siersdorfer, Managing Director of Middle East and Africa, President Tinubu noted that the power sector remains central to stimulating the economy, particularly in the industrial, educational, and healthcare sectors.
The Vice President, Sen. Kashim Shettima, the coordinating minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, and the Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, attended the meeting.
The President stated that the completion of the phased power project will give Nigeria a place of pride on the continent by harnessing the latent potential in human and material resources across various sectors.
“There is no industrial growth or economic development without power. I believe that power is the most significant discovery of humanity in the last 1,000 years.
“I appreciate the partnership on the initiative. The progress of the project to date is notable, and we can feel it. But it is not where we want it to be.
“We appreciate the support and commitment of the German government and Siemens. The investment you are making and your commitment align with the future of this country.
“Our education, our health care and our transportation all depend on energy and without power, it is an impossible objective. We are taking it very seriously,” he added.
The President also directed the expansion of some major transformer substations from two to three phases to boost the country’s power supply.
“We are all inspired and happy. This is what we want to achieve on the continent. We want everyone to see the glory of our economic recovery and banishment of poverty,” he said.
The President assured the delegation that the government will continue to provide the needed resources for the power project.
The Power Minister, Adelabu, stated that the power sector had achieved many critical milestones, including the decentralisation and liberalisation of the sector.
He noted that the President signed the Electricity Act 2023, and a National Integrated Electricity Policy was developed after 24 years, attracting more than $2 2billiopn of fresh investments.
The minister noted that the policy had resulted in the activation of fifteen state electricity markets.
“Since the signing of the Accelerated Agreement at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023, an event you personally attended alongside the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the PPI has recorded notable milestones across its implementation phases.
\`\`Under the Pilot phase (Phase Zero), we have achieved significant infrastructure upgrades and capacity enhancements that are already impacting grid stability and reliability across the country.
\`\`Siemens Energy has successfully delivered and commissioned 10 units of 132/33kV mobile substations, three units of 75/100MVA transformers, and seven units of 60/66MVA transformers across key load centres nationwide, which have added 984mv of transmission capacity to the grid,” the minister stated.
Adelabu informed the President that in December 2024, the Federal Executive Council approved the commencement of the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for Phase One, Batch One of the PPI.
The minister stated that the scope encompasses the upgrade, installation, and commissioning of five key substations situated in Abeokuta, Offa, Ayede-Ibadan, Sokoto, and Onitsha.
\`\`I am pleased to report that plans for civil works mobilisation across all five locations have been finalised, concurrent manufacturing of the required equipment is ongoing, and two of the five substations are targeted for completion by the end of 2026.
\`\`As we consolidate the gains from the Pilot Phase and Phase One-First Batch, we are also preparing to advance to Phase One-Batch two, which has a scope for the construction of new substations and the upgrade of existing ones across key load centres nationwide. Collectively, Phase One -Batch Two of the PPI comprises a total of six (6) Brownfield and ten (10) Greenfield substations with a cumulative impact of 4,104MW”.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, stated that the completion of the PPI will enhance Nigeria’s ease of doing business, create more jobs for the youth, and reduce poverty.
The leader of the Siemens delegation, Siersdorfer, stated that two out of the five substations under construction are expected to be completed by December 2026.
He noted that a training centre was already under construction to ensure the training of local talents in electrical engineering, create more jobs, capture local content, and transfer technology.
“The PPI is not just a project but a platform for long-term development and prosperity,” he stated.
He informed the President that the PPI will transform Nigeria into a regional power hub, reflecting the depth of relations between Germany and Nigeria.
“Nigerian professionals will be engaged directly in the five project sites in Batch 1 for the site works, while thousands of jobs will be enabled in the local communities through purchased services, accommodation, and transportation, among others. These will further reflect the strength of our partnership and the viability of the roadmap we have built together,” Siersdorfer noted.
The German Ambassador’s representative, Johannes Lehne, assured President Tinubu of further support and collaboration with the German government.
The fourth prosecution witness of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the alleged money laundering trial of the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has re-affirmed that fund withdrawals by the state government did not breach any banking law.
During cross-examination before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday, a compliance officer with one of the commercial banks, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, also reiterated that the name of the former governor did not appear as beneficiary in the account presented as evidence.
The Defence Counsel and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Daudu, had drawn the witness’ attention to certain withdrawals by one Umar Olufunke, which the prosecution did not mention.
The prosecution had concentrated on withdrawals by Abdulsalam Hudu, the Cashier of Kogi State Government House.
The withdrawals, in multiples of ₦10 million, were between December 2017 and April 2018, with beneficiaries being various hotels in Kogi State, according to the witness.
Under cross-examination, the witness also confirmed withdrawals by one Alhassan Omakoji between November 2021 and December 2022, which did not exceed ₦10 million per withdrawal.
He said the withdrawals were in line with the limits set by the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN.
He admitted that he was not aware of any law that regulates how Kogi State Government spends its money or allocation.
He said apart from the beneficiaries like the hotels, there was no way he could know what the state’s transactions were meant for.
The prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, thereafter said he had no re-examination for Mshelia and asked for him to be discharged.
After Mshelia, the fifth prosecution witness, Jesutoni Akoni, a Compliance Officer with Ecobank Plc, was examined by another prosecution counsel, Chukwudi Enebeli, SAN.
He tendered a subpoena written to Ecobank, which was admitted in evidence.
The EFCC lawyer also sought to tender a statement of account of Moses Ailetu companies with certificate of identification, from January 1 to January 31, 2016.
The defence counsel did not oppose it and it was admitted as Exhibit 29.
The witness was told to identify the different columns in the statement, which he did.
He was told to confirm cash deposits by the company, which were between N3 million and ₦20 million, and totalling ₦57 million.
On cross-examination, the witness confirmed that former governor Bello was not the beneficiary of the said deposits.
Akoni also admitted that it was not possible to discern the source of funds from the face of the documents.
The prosecution, thereafter, introduced its sixth witness, on subpoena from Keystone Bank.
Mohammed Bello Hassan, a relationship officer with the bank, was asked to produce the statements of account of Dantata and Sawoe, which was tendered as Exhibit, along with the certificate of identification. The defence counsel did not object.
After this, a seventh witness, Olomotame Egoro, a Compliance Officer, on subpoena from Access Bank, was led in evidence by Pinheiro SAN.
He confirmed to the court that he had the 12 sets of documents that had been requested.
“We supplied sufficient customer’s details that were extracted from the account opening packages at the time the customer opened the account,” he said.
The defence counsel did not object to the admission of the account statement proper but kicked against some extractions.
“I am not going to object to the account proper but I will object to all the 12 purported extractions from the account opening documents attached. But I will not object to the statements of account, which were subpoenaed,” he stated.
“Based on our request, he brought other documents believing that we may be in need. We did not actually request for those documents,” Pinheiro SAN responded.
Daudu SAN prayed the court to tell the prosecution to remove “all the extraneous documents attached”.
The prosecution team then began to detach the documents that were regarded as irrelevant.
Justice Emeka Nwite subsequently adjourned the matter to November 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.
This was disclosed in a statement signed on Monday by Dele Oyewale, the agency’s Head of Media and publicity.
According to the statement, the anti-graft agency stated that the former minister converted a sum of $14,859,257, part of funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a Refinery.
The statement reads, “The public is hereby notified that TIMIPRE SYLVA, a former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, and former Governor of Bayelsa State, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Conspiracy and Dishonest Conversion of $14,859,257 – part of funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a Refinery.”
It added, “Sylva, 61, is from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. This notice is pursuant to a November 6, 2025 warrant of the Lagos State High Court.
“Anybody with useful information as to his whereabouts should please contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, llorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt or Abuja offices or through 08093322644; its e-mail address: info@efcc.gov.ng or the nearest Police Station and other security agencies,” the statement concluded.
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