Civil rights advocate Dele Farotimi has criticised both the Nigeria Police and the judiciary for stifling citizens’ rights to peaceful protest, saying their actions show that “Nigeria is merely pretending to be a democracy.”
Speaking on Tuesday, the 21st of October, 2025, during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, Farotimi said genuine democracy does not require police approval before citizens can protest. He explained that the police should only be notified to ensure security during such demonstrations.
“In a democracy, there should never be a need for a police permit before you may have a protest. The police were informed so that they would provide security,” he said.
He added that the judiciary’s interference in citizens’ right to protest peacefully “is even suggestive of the fact that we’re not in a democracy. We’re only mimicking and pretending to be in one.”
Farotimi’s remarks followed Monday’s #FreeNnamdiKanu demonstration in Abuja, where protesters marched across the Federal Capital Territory demanding the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
According to him, it defies logic that people living under a democratic system must seek approval from the police, public servants paid with taxpayers’ money before gathering peacefully.
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He further criticised the judiciary, describing it as “an extension of the executive” that no longer upholds justice.
“I’m sorry to say our judiciary is unfit for purpose. It does exactly as it is told by the executive and does not serve the cause of justice. An order is only as useful as its lawfulness,” he said.
Farotimi argued that peaceful protesters should never be treated as criminals. He recalled being arrested under what he described as a non-existent law, an experience he said highlighted the deep flaws within Nigeria’s justice system.