The recent ENDSARS protests which paralysed Economic, Commercial and Social activities in most parts of the country brought about some lessons. However, our correspondent Michael Ofulue sought the views of some legal practitioners. Excepts:

Kayode Adeola

Nigerians are entitled to a peaceful Protest, this right is guaranteed & derived from the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.
As Nigerians, we all have the right to peaceful Assembly not withstanding the difference in our culture, tribe, custom, religion and belief system.
The Akure based lawyer hinted that the recent protest staged by the EndSARS protesters was very lawful and it’s within the contemplation of the law.
His words: “What is a Protest. This means a lawful expression or agitation of Complain by a group of people in what they believe that is wrong with a particular system and suggesting possible solutions. This could be in form of boycotting or Closing down a public system to gain of the attention to the authority concerned.
According to him protest must be lawful and Peaceful for it to be acceptable.
EndSARS was current happening in Nigeria at the moment.
“How do we fight the symptom but ignore the cause!
Nigerians should propose to embark on a Protest on ENDBOGUS PAY FOR POLITICIANS.
He stated that police brutality is symptomatic to everyone in Nigeria but the police case is only peculiar because they bear arms.
Kayode disclosed that after endsars the next would be endboguspay for politicians which everyone must participate.
He pointed out that a situation where a parliamentarian get N27m per month, Governor get over N600m per month is not only unacceptable but the root of corruption including craze for political appointments and vote-buying in Nigeria. Let us collectively say no to the lopsided system where the servants become the masters.
He enjoined all Nigerians to watch out for a new date and be ready to join the protest because protest is the right of every citizen of the country to express their grievances against bad policies, government, and leadership.

Steve Akintubobo

Right to peaceful protest is constitutionally guaranteed. Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended makes provision for peaceful assembly and association of Nigerian citizens. We can also posit that Section 39 (1) of the Constitution which guarantees right to freedom of expression also supports right to peaceful protest of Nigerian citizens. It should be noted that peaceful protest entails the coming together of aggrieved individuals which becomes an assembly with the sole purpose of making their grievances known to the authority.

This will also involve freedom of expression as the aggrieved individual are seeking for a platform to express their thoughts and convey their grievances to the concerned authority. We can therefore deduce that peaceful protest in Nigeria and all over the world is a constitutionally guaranteed exercise. But while embarking on peaceful protests, participants must ensure that it does not degenerate into breach of the public peace. They must not allow it to be hijacked by unscrupulous elements in the society who will seize such opportunity to loot properties of innocent citizens, commit arson and other heinous crimes. The government is not oblivion of the fact that irate mobs may want to hijack peaceful protests hence the enactment of the Public Order Act which enables the government at all levels to regulate peaceful assembly and procession of members of the public.
Though some scholars argue that the Public Order Act is in gross contravention of Section 40 of the Constitution, nevertheless it is our humble submission that the Act has gone a long way in regulating peaceful protests in Nigeria. It should be noted that Nigerian security agencies and their operatives are almost always overzealous when dealing with peaceful assembly and protests in Nigeria. An example is the recent unprovoked shooting of peaceful #EndSARS protesters in Lekki toll gate Plaza by men in army uniform suspected to be soldiers of the Nigerian Army.
This is totally uncalled for. As a matter of rule of engagement you don’t employ firearms in dealing with harmless and armless protesters. Even in war you don’t shoot an armless prisoner of war. You must even treat him with the dignity of an officer and give him his due compliment if he is your senior in rank in the military. If that respect could be accorded to a belligerent why not do same to the harmless and armless protesters? I think the entire protests of the #EndSARS protesters was peaceful to some extent until the Lekki toll gate Plaza calamity. It was this sad event that brought out the beasts in some hoodlums who in my humble opinion reacted as a result of bottled up emotion.
It is unfortunate that things degenerated to such horrible level. I think the government need to learn from this and do the needful while handling peaceful protest in future because peaceful protests and assemblies will always come up as they are part of our existence as human beings. They are part of our inalienable rights.

Famoritiye

Protest in a democratic system such as ours in Nigeria is a constitutional right which no authority can take away from the aggrieved citizens. This right is back up by section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended.
Is an height of wickedness, impunity and gross illegality and, in fact, offends sections 33, 34, 35 and 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
. He, however said despite the Law permit protest as a way should grievances to government and bad leadership, it must be conducted in a peaceful manner and anything shot of this is not allowed by the law.

Dawood Ajetomobi

A legal practitioner, Dawood Ajetomobi says it is constitutional to stage a peaceful protest in order to demand for whatever you want.
Ajetomobi also noted that, when the protest threatens the peace and security of the nation, it is no longer peaceful
He stated that government should be alive to their responsibility, as the President is saddled with the responsibility of securing the lives and property of Nigerians.
He noted that government cannot allow protesters to hijack the polity. “They have made their point and their demands have been addressed by the government.
“The protest is not peaceful anymore because it has led to destruction of property, manhandling of people and so on.”
Whatever government can do within the ambit of law to restore normalcy, they should enforce it. If the deployment of military to the streets is what will ensure peace, government should go ahead with it.”

Mr Peter Ujah

Mr Peter Ujah, an Akure based legal practitioner said to start with, protest simply means saying no to something or happenings that you are not comfortable with . Protest in Nigeria is legal just like every other climes.
It is normal for people to say no to something they are not comfortable with. Without mincing words, protest in Nigeria is a welcomed development for citizens to question constituted authorities because the so called constituted authorities derived their pay from the same protesters.
According to him it is only logical and normal tax payers to say no when the system is dysfunctional and sick. So for me, protest in Nigeria is not only normal, but long over due.
He was on the opinion that ENDSARS protests was normal and in confines with the law of the land
He condemned the killing of innocent people in Lekki urged the government to properly investigate the dastardly act and ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.