Civil rights lawyer Dele Farotimi has accused the Nigerian government of fearing accountability and the rule of law more than it fears armed groups terrorising citizens.
Speaking on The Morning Brief on Channels Television on Tuesday, Farotimi said Nigeria’s leaders have consistently shown “hostility toward peaceful citizens while tolerating violent actors.”
His comments followed a protest in Abuja on Monday, led by Omoyele Sowore, demanding the release of Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), from detention.
Farotimi recalled the October 20, 2020 #EndSARS protest, describing it as a moment that exposed the government’s intolerance of peaceful dissent. “Nigerians were waving flags and singing the national anthem. They were murdered in cold blood,” he said.
A Culture of Fear and Silence
Farotimi said the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) had long operated as the “brutal arm of the government in enforcing impunity.” Instead of addressing citizens’ grievances, he said, the state turned its guns on its people.
He condemned the recurring pattern of police aggression against protesters, saying the force remains “ever ready to murder and maim citizens” while showing silence or leniency toward bandits, terrorists, and Fulani militias wreaking havoc across Nigeria.
“The Nigerian state is scared of being subjected to the rule of law and being accountable to its victims,” he added.
Farotimi’s remarks should reignite the debate over state impunity, highhanded police force, and selective justice in a country where peaceful activism is often seen through a criminal lens.
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