Falana (SAN) Urges NBA to Sanction State Attorneys‑General Over Failure to Prosecute Terrorism, Banditry Cases
Human rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) on Wednesday called for the sanctioning of state attorneys-general who have failed to prosecute suspected terrorists, bandits and other violent criminals arrested within their jurisdictions.
Falana predicated the call on the grounds that the Attorney General of the Federation in 2016, gave the Fiat or authority to all the AGs of states to prosecute terrorism, which is a federal offence.
He made the call specifically to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), while speaking at the 2025 International Human Rights Day, organised by the NBA’s Human Rights Institute (HRI).
“Up till today, no AG has ever charged anybody with terrorism in the state. As you are aware, culpable homicide or murder, armed robbery and kidnapping are state offences. But how many state governments are charging people? How many of our members who are AGs are doing so?
“In Benue and Plateau where a lot of reports are oozing out in the country; in fact, the killings there were alleged to be the reason why Donald Trump is threatening our country. You can quote me, in the last three years, not less than 1000 suspected bandits and terrorists had been arrested and paraded by police in those states.
“In spite of the fact that some of us have shouted ourselves hoarse, not up to 10 have been prosecuted successfully. So, the NBA must call to order and sanction Attorneys-General that fail to prosecute terror suspects, bandits and other killers in our country”, he said.
Speaking on the security situation in the country, Falana advised the federal government to embrace and deploy technology rather than recruitment of more soldiers and police officers.
According to him, it is not about the number, but about equipping and motivating serving members of the armed forces and police.
“The man in charge of our space technology has just come out to reveal that whereas the President approved funds of about N20 billion to acquire Satellite Facility in May this year, up till now, the fund has not been released,” he stressed.
Also, the rights activist expressed worry over the increase in the number of out-of-school children, especially in the north, stressing that when the children of the poor are not cared for, they will make life unbearable for our own children.
Painting what he said is “the reality we face in the North”, Falana claimed that out of about 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, 80 per cent are in the North.
“Another troubling issue involves the misuse of funds. Fifty million dollars was supposedly set aside, but no one seems accountable. The NBA must be interested in how this money will be recovered. State governments must also provide funds to secure schools before they are reopened.
“I have suggested that some schools be temporarily relocated to state capitals where adequate security exists. For those that must remain in rural areas, stronger community security structures are needed,” he argued.
Earlier in a welcome address, the NBA 1st Vice President and Chairman of the NBA Human Rights Institute, Mr. Sabastine Anyia, stated that human rights are not luxuries reserved for the privileged, but are indispensable breath of shared humanity, and everyday essential.
He described the NBA Human Rights Institute’s local theme: “Security: A Necessity for the Growth of Our Nation, Nigeria,” as a national heartbeat.
According to Anyia, when citizens are unsafe as they have been for the longest time, a nation struggles to breathe, adding that, without security, dreams are postponed, businesses collapse, children learn to fear and withdraw before they learn to read and communities become shadows of the vibrant possibilities they carry.
“Without security, justice becomes a mere chant far away from reality and without security, human rights, our everyday essentials lose their ground. This is why we gather today to celebrate and to commit ourselves anew to creating a Nigeria where human rights are actual”, he said.
