Falana Wants State Of Emergency On Covid-19

By Ayodele Oluwafemi

Constitutional and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to issue a proclamation of a state of emergency on the Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The Federal and State Governments had put prevention measures in place to curtail the spread of the deadly virus

Falana, in a statement, on Monday, stressed that there is need for the FG to declare a state of emergency, noting that such declaration will make it a punishable offence for religious and political leaders who defy directives on social gatherings.

He advised the FG to decongest detention facilities across the country, while adding that convicts who are suffering from tuberculosis, diabetes, asthma and other terminal diseases should be released.

Part of the statement reads, “In order to stem the dangerous trend the Federal Government should put necessary legal measures and mechanisms in place without any further delay.

“In particular, the attention of the Nigerian people ought to be drawn to section 45 of the Constitution which provides that the fundamental rights of citizens to personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom of assembly and association etc may be infringed upon or restricted in the interest of public health and public safety.

“Therefore, President Muhammadu Buhari should, as a matter of urgency, issue a proclamation of a state of emergency in the entire Federation pursuant to section 305 (1) of the Constitution.

“Once the proclamation is issued by the President and published it is required to be approved by a resolution supported by two-thirds majority of each house of the national assembly.

“Once the measures are set out in the said proclamation they will have the force of law capable of being enforced by the police and other security agencies. If President Buhari does not declare a state of emergency state governors are advised to issue Executive Orders to address the health challenge.”

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