Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana says Nigeria cannot lead regional efforts against coups without first addressing internal drivers of instability.
He made this position known as West Africa confronts another round of military takeovers.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, the human rights lawyer said Nigeria must confront socioeconomic and political conditions that fuel unrest.
“If we want to have political stability in Nigeria, you must address the crisis of the economy, address poverty, tackle illiteracy, and curb insecurity of lives and property,” he said.
Falana said civic freedoms must be strengthened and warned against treating criticism as a crime.
“You must show that the political space will not shrink as it is now. You have a shrinking of the political space, and that must stop. There must be freedom of expression.
“You cannot be charging people with all manner of offences for expressing their views about the affairs of their country,” he said.
He also urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to widen participation.
“More importantly, INEC must open the political space and allow ideological political parties to be registered to challenge the status quo. Right now, INEC is not prepared to open the political space,” he said.
Falana said many citizens are “unhappy” with current policies and argued that democratic leaders in Africa frequently constrain the opposition.
According to him, Nigeria must avoid practices that weaken pluralism.
“Nigeria clearly has its job cut out. If you want to stop coups, you must allow political pluralism in Nigeria.
“You cannot have a situation where the country is moving towards a one-party state, and you want to export democracy. Nigeria has to put its house in order to align with political pluralism” he asserted.
He added that credible elections depend on competitive opposition, saying ruling parties across Africa often render rivals “impotent” through direct or indirect restrictions.
Asked if more coups should be expected, Falana said, “It won’t be the last. I’m familiar with the political terrain. Once you put opposition leaders in jail, send them into exile, or kill them, you cannot have political stability.”
Citing similar trends in Benin Republic, he urged Nigeria to “show leadership in stabilising the region.”
His remarks follow Sunday’s failed coup attempt in Benin, during which soldiers led by Lt. Col. Pascal Tigri seized the state television station in Cotonou and announced President Patrice Talon’s removal.
The uprising was quashed within hours by Nigerian troops and the ECOWAS standby force.
Authorities said several people were killed, at least 14 suspects were arrested, and Tigri remains at large. The plotters cited grievances over security, military promotions and restrictions on political freedoms linked to the 2026 election.
The African Union, United Nations, European Union and ECOWAS condemned the coup.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Senate has approved President Bola Tinubu’s request to deploy troops to Benin Republic.
