Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has been warned against dragging the military into the ongoing End SARS protest following the launch of Crocodile Smile exercise.
Falana had alleged plots by President Muhammadu Buhari to use soldiers to quell the End SARS protests across the country.
According to him, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai, risks facing the International Criminal Court (ICC) if any of the protesters is killed.
However, Coalition for Nigeria Movement warned Falana not to make comments that could pitch the military against the civilians.
The group said it views such statements as callous, and a continuation of the deep-rooted hatred Femi Falana and his shadowy group has for the Nigerian Army in its efforts in tackling the various security challenges in the country.
It stated this in a statement by its Secretary General, Ainoko Idoko.
The statement reads: “First, Femi Falana and his group made an unsubstantiated allegation that was hinged on a deliberate plot to drag the Nigerian Army into the EndSARS protests across the country to instigate the people against the Nigerian Army.”
The group said Falana should desist from issuing unguarded public statements that are aimed at distracting the Nigerian Army in its quest towards addressing the myriads of security challenges in the country.
The statement added: “It is consequently appalling that a man of Femi Falana’s standing as a lawyer does not know that making wild and unsubstantiated allegations is a crime that is capable of instigating conflict in the country.
“It is also despicable that Femi Falana and his group would elect to condescend so low to playing to the gallery and for pecuniary benefits by acting as agents of foreign forces bent on destabilizing Nigeria.
“The Coalition for Nigeria Movement wishes to inform members of the general public that the Nigerian Army in the past five years has transformed into a professional force through the efforts of the dynamic leadership of the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, who has introduced notable reforms in the operations of the Nigerian Army especially in the area of the entrenchment and preservation of human rights.”
