Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has urged the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), to halt the ongoing court martial proceedings against 36 alleged coup plotters, describing the charge as unlawful.
In a statement, Falana said the Attorney-General should instead invoke his constitutional powers under Section 174 to discontinue the case before the General Court Martial and proceed to file charges against the accused military officers at the Federal High Court.
He argued that the planned trial before a military tribunal violates Section 251 of the Constitution, which, according to him, vests jurisdiction over treason and related offences in the Federal High Court.
Falana further maintained that trying some suspects in the Federal High Court while prosecuting others before a court martial for the same alleged offence undermines the principle of equality before the law.
He also stated that a General Court Martial lacks the legal authority to try offences such as terrorism, treason, or treasonable felony under Nigeria’s current constitutional framework.
Recalling past military regimes, Falana noted that even during earlier coup-related cases, suspects were not tried by court martial but by special military tribunals established under specific decrees.
He added that since the return to democratic rule in 1999, all treason-related decrees have been repealed, meaning such cases must now be handled exclusively by the Federal High Court.
