2 weeks Ago By Ado Oyeyemi
Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to report him to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee over his comments on the Supreme Court’s ruling concerning the political crisis in Rivers State. In a statement on Sunday titled “I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Falana refuted Wike’s claims that he misrepresented the Supreme Court’s judgment on the defection of 27 lawmakers from the Rivers State House of Assembly. He accused Wike of attempting to incite the Supreme Court against him and described the minister’s allegations as baseless.
Wike had earlier criticized Falana during a press briefing, accusing the senior lawyer of making false claims on national television. “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,” Wike stated.
In response, Falana said his comments during the television appearance were accurate, noting that the issue of defection was already pending before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt when the Supreme Court gave its ruling. He maintained that he did not misrepresent the apex court’s judgment and cited available evidence, including video clips and sworn affidavits, confirming the lawmakers’ defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Falana also emphasized that he has a constitutional right to critique judicial decisions, referencing Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
He further accused Wike of hypocrisy, saying the minister has a history of criticizing judges when court decisions do not favor him politically. “Unlike Mr. Wike, who calls judges names whenever they disagree with his politics of opportunism, I have always criticised judgments with utmost decorum and good faith,” Falana said.
To support his stance, Falana cited the late Justice Oputa’s well-known statement: “We are final not because we are infallible; rather, we are infallible because we are final,” and also quoted former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who encouraged public scrutiny of the judiciary. Falana concluded by challenging Wike to initiate legal proceedings if he believed any misconduct had occurred. He also warned that the Supreme Court’s recent position—requiring party membership registers as proof of defection—could be misused by politicians to justify switching parties without consequence.
He urged the judiciary to uphold its previous rulings that mandated elected officials to vacate their seats upon defection..
