Femi Falana, a human rights lawyer and activist, has said Justice Danladi Umar, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), is liable to face five years in prison over his use of the term “Biafran boys” to describe the people he had an altercation with recently.
Falana said this in a statement on Saturday while reacting to Umar’s explanation of the row he had with some persons at Banex Plaza, Abuja, which was caught on camera.
Umar was seen in a viral video on Monday assaulting a security guard at the aforementioned plaza after a dispute occurred over a car parking space.
The CCT spokesperson later said it was Umar who asked him to use “Biafran boys” in the statement.
Reacting, Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the use of the term constitutes xenophobia, which contravenes the Cybercrime Act 2015.
The statement read: “The use of the words “BIAFRA boys” in the statement (produced through a computer system or network) on the instructions of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and distributed to the media last week constitutes a contravention of section 26 of the Cybercrimes Act 2015 which prohibits the use of “racist or xenophobic material” in any written or printed material which advocates, promotes or incites hatred, discrimination or violence, against any individual group of individuals, based on race, color, descent or national or ethnic origin, as well as religion if used as a pretext for any of these factors.
“The person alleged to have suggested the use of the xenophobic words is liable to be prosecuted for the serious offence. The penalty for the offence is 5 year’s imprisonment and/or a minimum N10 million fine.”
