While the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gives Americans the right to bear arms for lawful purposes, including self-defense, Nigeria is still debating whether to extend gun ownership rights to ordinary citizens.
The debate has intensified in recent weeks as defenceless citizens are slaughtered daily with reckless abandon by armed gangs and terror groups.
Nigeria’s Army Chief, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja, thinks there would be anarchy if Nigerians were allowed to freely carry and use firearms, leading to what he calls a “lawless state.”
But Femi Falana, a lawyer and a human rights activist, took issue with the Army Chief’s stance, saying “It is not correct to say Nigerians have no right to bear arms.”
Falana said the Nigerian constitution protects the right to self-defense provided the arms bearer has a license to own and use arms. “If someone aims a gun at me, and I can quickly grab another gun, I have the right to shoot,” the lawyer said on Wednesday during a press interview.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
