Falana: 57 detainees are on hunger strike at naval facility in Lagos

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, says 57 detainees at the Nigerian navy facility in Apapa, Lagos, have begun a hunger strike to protest their incarceration without trial.

Falana said the detainees began the strike on Monday after the navy failed to obey court orders to release them.

In May, Falana accused the navy of flouting the order of President Muhammadu Buhari to release the people it is detaining ”illegally”.

The senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) had also criticised the president for celebrating 100 days in office while many Nigerians are languishing in detention facilities across the country.

“The 57 people being detained illegally by the Nigerian Navy at NNS Beecroft detention facility at Apapa, Lagos commenced a hunger strike on Monday, September 9, 2019,” he said.

“They are protesting their detention without trial for periods ranging from 8 months to over 2 years.

“The federal high court has nullified the detention of some of the detainees while others have been granted bail. But the Nigerian Navy has treated the court orders with contempt.

“In spite of its official policy to respect the human rights of the Nigerian people the Buhari administration qhas failed to call the detaining authorities to order.”