Human rights activist and senior lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to ensure that the federal government fulfils its constitutional role to protect Nigerians.
Speaking at the NLC National Executive Council (NEC), Falana lamented that the worsening insecurity in the country, despite being under the full glare of a functional government, remains an aberration.
He warned that military intervention from other countries would undermine the nation’s sovereignty.
Falana condemned the rising wave of kidnappings across the country, adding that criminal gangs continued to abduct citizens despite the presence of a functioning government.
According to him, desperation had prompted some Nigerians to support the idea of foreign military intervention, particularly by the United States, a move that he believed was a slap in the face of the federal government.
Falana recalled that Nigerians had historically rejected attempts by foreign powers to establish military bases in the country, citing the 1962 resistance to the Anglo-Nigerian Defence Pact shortly after independence. Since then, he said both the United States and Britain had repeatedly sought similar arrangements, which Nigerians consistently opposed.
“The experiences of countries such as Libya, where foreign intervention destabilised national structures and left the nation fragmented, should serve as a cautionary example,” he stated.
Falana pointed out that the ongoing US involvement in global conflicts, including support for Israel’s military operations in Gaza and alleged plans to intervene in Venezuela, were there for everyone to learn from.
The senior advocate criticised a US political plan, which the US said was about protecting Christians, arguing that such claims were inconsistent with America’s actions in conflict zones.
He questioned why foreign actors claiming to defend Christians abroad had not intervened in Nigerian states affected by religious violence if their intentions were genuine.
Falana stressed that Nigeria must avoid becoming entangled in prolonged foreign military engagements, pointing to America’s 20-year war in Afghanistan as an example of long-term instability that external intervention can create.