Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has dared the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to report him to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee over his (Falana’s) analysis of the Supreme Court verdict on the Rivers State political crisis.
Falana, in a statement issued on Sunday headlined “I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria”, accused Wike of futile attempts to instigate the Supreme Court against him.
He stated that, contrary to Wike’s claims, he did not falsify or misrepresent the Supreme Court’s verdict on the defection of 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members.
Falana slammed Wike’s charges as “spurious and tendentious in every material particular,” accusing him of seeking to agitate the Supreme Court against him.
The minister had publicly criticised Falana during a press conference in Abuja, asserting that the senior lawyer misrepresented the Supreme Court’s ruling on Channels TV.
Wike said, “If someone of Femi Falana’s calibre can go on national television and lie, it’s very serious. Lies can cause a lot of crises.”
In response, Falana explained, “Mr Wike subjected me to another scurrilous attack in a press conference, where he alleged that I lied about the defection status of certain legislators during my appearance on Channels TV.”
He noted that the issue of the lawmakers’ defection was still ongoing before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt when the Supreme Court issued its decision.
Falana clarified, “I did not lie against the Supreme Court in respect of the judgement in question. All I said was that the matter of the defection of the 27 legislators was raised suo motu and determined by the eminent justices of the apex court.”
Furthermore, he asserted that there were videotapes and a sworn affidavit in which the lawmakers confirmed their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
Falana stressed that his right to criticise court judgements is protected by both the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights law.
“My fundamental right to criticise the decisions of courts is guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” he said.
He accused Wike of hypocrisy, pointing out that the minister has a history of attacking judges when rulings do not align with his political views.
Falana added, “Unlike Mr Wike, who calls judges names whenever they disagree with his politics of opportunism, I have always criticised the judgements of domestic and regional courts with utmost decorum and in good faith.”
He quoted a famous statement by the late Justice Oputa in the Adegoke Motors Limited v. Dr Babatunde Adesanya case: “We are final not because we are infallible; rather, we are infallible because we are final,” highlighting the judiciary’s openness to criticism.
Falana also quoted former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who once said, “You have the responsibility of drawing our attention to where things are going wrong or on the verge of going wrong.”
Falana challenged Wike to take legal action if he believed he had breached professional conduct.
“Since he has become the unsolicited defender of the judiciary, I challenge him to report me to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for professional misconduct,” Falana said.
On the issue of legislative defection, Falana cautioned that the Supreme Court’s recent decision to require proof of defection through a party’s membership registry could enable “unpatriotic politicians to justify political prostitution in Nigeria.”
He urged the court to follow previous findings, such as Attorney-General of the Federation v. Abubakar and Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly, which held that legislators who defected immediately lost their seats.
Falana determined that Wike’s attempts to discredit him had been unsuccessful.
“It is indubitably clear that the allegation levelled against me by Mr Wike is spurious… He has failed in his desperate bid to incite the Justices of the Supreme Court against me without any basis whatsoever.”
In a recent media outburst, Wike criticised Falana for losing a case he had won at the Supreme Court, dubbing him “a television lawyer”.
Falana, who chose not to engage with Wike’s comments at the time, stated, “Mr Wike is the only life bencher in Nigeria who has never handled a case in any trial court or appellate court.”
Falana further added, “It is no crime if a lawyer loses a case in any court. Only a corrupt lawyer wins all cases in all courts.”
