Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has urged the Federal Government to expand political freedoms and open up the democratic space if it intends to prevent coups and promote stability in Nigeria and West Africa.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Falana said Nigeria must confront the underlying social and political conditions that fuel instability.
“If we want to have political stability in Nigeria, you must address the crisis of the economy, address poverty, tackle illiteracy, and curb insecurity of lives and property,” he said.
Falana criticised what he described as the shrinking civic space, warning that the criminalisation of dissent undermines democracy.
“There must be freedom of expression. You cannot be charging people with all manner of offences for expressing their views about the affairs of their country,” he said.
He also faulted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for restricting political participation, saying genuine democracy requires ideological diversity.
“INEC must open the political space and allow ideological political parties to be registered to challenge the status quo. Right now, INEC is not prepared to open the political space,” he said.
Falana warned that authoritarian tendencies among African leaders—such as suppressing the opposition, manipulating state institutions, or weaponising law enforcement—often trigger coups.
“Once you put opposition leaders in jail, send them into exile, or kill them, you cannot have political stability,” he said, adding that many citizens across the continent are “unhappy” with current governance practices.
According to him, Nigeria must set the right example if it hopes to discourage military takeovers in the region.
“You cannot have a situation where the country is moving towards a one-party state and you want to export democracy. Nigeria has to put its house in order to align with political pluralism,” he said.
Falana also referenced the failed coup attempt in Benin Republic on Sunday, which was quashed within hours by Beninese forces with ECOWAS support. He said the development underscores the urgent need for Nigeria to “show leadership in stabilising the region.”
His comments come as the Senate approved the deployment of Nigerian troops to Benin at the request of President Bola Tinubu.
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