Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has come under intense criticism following remarks in which he compared a routine civil-military incident in Gaduwa to the tragic 2015 Zaria event.
The statements, widely described as reckless and inflammatory, drew sharp condemnation from the Concerned Defenders of National Consciousness and Integrity (CDNCI), a civil society group committed to safeguarding national memory and integrity.
In a strongly worded statement released on Saturday, the group accused Falana of engaging in “malicious and intellectually dishonest rhetoric” that diminishes the gravity of the Zaria tragedy. “To invoke the profound pain of Zaria—a complex event that shook the nation—as a flippant ‘what if’ scenario over a land dispute is the height of irresponsibility,” the statement said.
The CDNCI further emphasized that military generals are custodians of the state, sworn to protect Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “To reduce this sacred responsibility to a crude analogy in a political dispute is an unforgivable display of ignorance regarding governance and statecraft,” the statement added.
The civil society group also questioned Falana’s motivations, suggesting that his comments marked a departure from the principled advocacy for which he has long been known. “This is the undignified downfall of a man once regarded as a social crusader. He has traded his mantle of social advocacy for political expediency,” the statement read.
The CDNCI called on Falana to issue a “profound and unequivocal apology” to the Nigerian people, the Armed Forces, and the families affected by past conflicts. The group warned that failure to do so could “cement his legacy not as a defender of the people, but as a merchant of discord.”
Falana’s comments, and the backlash they have sparked, underscore the sensitive nature of national memory in Nigeria and the expectations placed on public figures to uphold civil discourse.
