Falana Urges FG to Make Socio-Economic Rights Enforceable to Tackle Insecurity

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the Federal Government to elevate socio-economic rights from aspirational provisions to enforceable guarantees, stressing that doing so is crucial to addressing insecurity across the country.

Falana made the appeal while presenting a paper titled “Citizens’ Rights and Security Concerns” at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference held in Enugu on Tuesday.

According to him, the non-justiciability of socio-economic rights enshrined in Nigeria’s constitution undermines democracy and national stability. He argued that the current framework has created a “two-tier system” where civil and political rights are enjoyed by the privileged, while socio-economic rights remain inaccessible to the poor.

“The judiciary has misled the public by insisting that fundamental objectives and directive principles are not enforceable,” Falana said. He pointed to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, which guarantees socio-economic rights and makes them enforceable in Nigerian courts as well as before the ECOWAS Court.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria urged the NBA to spearhead litigation and advocacy to remove barriers to enforcement.
“The Bar must lead a campaign for the enforcement of socio-economic rights guaranteed by the African Charter,” he stated.

Falana further warned that growing inequality poses a serious security risk, noting that only by bridging the gap between constitutional ideals and practical realities can Nigeria strengthen peace and democracy.