Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has stated that military officers accused of plotting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu's administration cannot be lawfully tried by a court-martial and must instead be prosecuted in a civilian court.
Falana made the clarification during an interview with Channels Television, emphasizing that Nigeria’s democratic constitution requires such cases to be handled by the regular judicial system.
“We are under a democratic government, and as far as the constitution is concerned, we have to take them to a high court,” Falana said. “The soldiers cannot be court-martialed; they are not trying to remove a military dictator. It is an attempt to remove an elected government.”
He explained that a court-martial is designed to address breaches of military discipline, while an attempt to overthrow a constitutional government constitutes treason—a civil crime that falls under the jurisdiction of federal high courts.
Falana cited a historical precedent from Nigeria’s Second Republic, where a civilian, Mandara, was tried in a federal high court—not a military tribunal—for allegedly plotting with soldiers to topple President Shehu Shagari’s government. Mandara was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison.
“This is not new in our constitutional history,” Falana noted. “When there is an attempt to overthrow a civilian government, the suspects are charged before a regular court of law.”
The senior lawyer warned against reverting to practices from Nigeria’s military era and stressed that the current democratic framework clearly mandates civilian judicial oversight for crimes against the state, even when military personnel are involved.
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