Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Interim Chair, Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), Mr. Femi Falana has explained why he feels the federal government should not back herders against Southern Governors over their passage of the anti-open grazing law in the region, IgbereTV reports.
Falana in a statement made available to journalists maintained that the federal government should not take sides with herders, saying doing so would not only be violating the constitution but amounts to political suicide.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said this while reacting to a statement by the Attorney General of Federation (AGF), Mr. Abubakar Malami, who said the action of the southern governors who had prohibited open grazing in the region violated the rights of Nigerians.
“The decision of the federal government to take sides in the dispute between the herders and the southern governors is a constitutional aberration and political suicide.
“Specifically, it is a gross violation of Section 17 of the Constitution which provides that the Nigerian people are entitled to equal rights and opportunities before the law and section 42 thereof which has prohibited the federal government from conferring advantage on any group of citizens”, he said.
Speaking further, the senior lawyer, stated that the federal government ought to know that the resources of the entire Nigerian people cannot be dissipated on defending herders or any other group against state governments.
