Renowned Rights Activist, Femi Falana, has disclosed that he will ensure that human right community pressurize the Lagos State Government to have those soldiers infringed human rights prosecuted.
Falana disclosed this on Channel Tv on Wednesday while reacting to the soldier and three other motorcyclists who were arrested by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday, for taking one way at the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
The lawyer who condemned the soldier for acting as if they were above the law noted that it was not the first time such incident would happened.
Falana recalled where a captain in the Army led soldiers to attack policemen who stopped a vehicle to arrest a very dangerous criminal, adding that an Inspector was killed in the process.
He pointed out that all efforts to prosecute the the soldiers prove abortive just as he said they were eventually promoted.
He said, “In our country the men of armed forces believe they are still under military dictatorahip and they above the law. We are lucky that there was no unfortunate incident.
“Last year August, some policemen were controlling traffic around Ojo area of Lagos and because a vehicle was stopped, a soldier came out of one of the vehicles and pounced on the police officers and an inspector was killed in the process others seriously injured. What happened in such situation?
“We tried to go to court. One of the top officers in soldier said they would be tried. Even to release the soldiers for investigation was problematic.
“It was the same thing we are doing where a Captain led soldiers to attack three policemen who have come to arrest a very dangerous criminal suspect. They killed them. The soldiers were charged. We do the case from the court. One officer of the intelligence department promise to tried them.
“The soldiers were late promoted. We must run a country where there is rule of law and there will be equality before the law.
“I’m going to ensure to that will get the human right community to pressurize the Lagos State Government to have those soldiers tried.”
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, ordered the arrest of a soldier and three other motorcyclists for taking one way at the Lagos-Badagry Expressway.
In a video made available by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Gboyega Akosile, the governor impounded a few motorcycles and arrested some of the motorcyclists for violating the state’s traffic rules.
Reports revealed that the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the governor, Wale Ajetunmobi, shared videos on his X handle on Tuesday showing lawless motorcyclists plying one way along the Lagos-Badagry expressway leaving motorcycles and passengers upon sighting the convoy of Sanwo-Olu.
The report read, “One of the offenders -a Lance Corporal in the Army- was arrested with his bike.”
One of the videos shows the moment some motorcyclists drove away with their passengers to escape being arrested by the governor’s security officers.
In another video, Sanwo-Olu ordered the officers to put one of the motorcyclists who claimed to be a soldier into the vehicle, stating that he was going to lock him up.
He said, “Put him there; let your father come and rescue you. You’re telling me you are a soldier; that is the reason I’m going to lock you up, useless boy.”
