Human rights activist Femi Falana has advised the federal government to work with other countries to mount diplomatic pressure on the United States over its actions in the ongoing conflict involving Iran and Israel.

He made the call during an appearance on Politics Today programme aired on Channels Television on Thursday.

Falana condemned the actions of US President, Donald Trump, insisting that he was disregarding the international law and United Nations resolutions.

He urged the Nigerian government to work with other countries to ensure adherence to international law and encourage global powers such as Russia and China to intervene in the escalating crisis.

“President Trump has no regard and shows contempt for international law. Hence, he has pulled the United States out of about 66 resolutions of the United Nations. To him, the resolutions of the United Nations mean nothing,” Falana said.

The senior advocate noted that Nigeria should revive its tradition of multilateral diplomacy, similar to the country’s role during the era of the Non-Aligned Movement, by working with other nations to push for restraint.

“Our duty as a country, as we used to do in the past, is to collaborate with other countries. When you talk of the days of non-alignment, we must now move very speedily to collaborate with other countries to mount pressure on Mr Trump,” he said.

Falana also stressed the importance of persuading major global powers such as Russia and China to intervene diplomatically, arguing that they wield considerable influence over Iran.

“We need to persuade China and Russia to intervene because those are the two countries that Iran will listen to,” he added.

Beyond the international dimension of the crisis, Falana called on Nigeria to strengthen its internal security architecture and reduce reliance on foreign powers for stability.

“Nigeria must wake up. We must learn from Iran that unless you reorganise your own country, unless you equip your armed forces and your police force, there is no way an imperialist country like America will guarantee law and order in your country,” he said.

Falana also criticised the country’s management of its refining capacity, questioning why Nigeria’s state-owned refineries were no longer operational despite billions of dollars spent on their rehabilitation.

“If we say we have four refineries, nobody is talking about them any longer. The NNPC now solely relies on the Dangote Refinery. Is that how to run a country? After carrying money down the drain, about $2.9 billion was spent on the maintenance of our four refineries,” he said.