Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana has called on the Lagos State Government to bring back the 317 people expelled from Lagos State to Osun State.
Falana made the call in a press statement on Thursday.
He said: “The deportation of the “so-called miscreants” violated their fundamental right to freedom of movement guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.”
Falana cited a previous court case, Federal Minister of Internal Affairs and Others vs Shugaba Abdulrrahaman Darman, where the Federal Court of Appeal affirmed an order to bring back a person who had been illegally deported.
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According to him, the deportation also contravened the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which prohibits mass expulsion targeting specific national, racial, ethnic, or religious groups. Falana noted that a state cannot turn a citizen into a foreigner just to expel them.
“Lagos and Osun Governors should resolve the Issue, since the Lagos State Government has denied authorizing the repatriation”, the senior lawyer said.
He also tasked Governor Sanwo-Olu to ensure the 317 citizens are brought back to Lagos. He added that Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, who protested on behalf of the deportees, should contribute to their resettlement in Lagos.
He also said that the officials of the Lagos State Government who carried out the illegal deportation should be held accountable to prevent them from expelling other poor people from Lagos in the future.
According to Falana, both the poor and the rich have equal rights to freedom of movement in Lagos and across Nigeria.
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