Popular Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN, has denounced claims by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, accusing him of lying against the Supreme Court of Nigeria over the defection of lawmakers in Rivers State.
In his reply to Wike, Falana described the F.C.T Minister as a Life Bencher without a single case to his credit.
According to a statement issued on Sunday, Falana described Wike’s allegations as “spurious and tendentious,” insisting that his recent comments about the apex court were rooted in law and facts.
The face-off is unconnected with Wike’s criticism of Falana during a recent press conference in Abuja, where the minister reportedly accused the legal luminary of “lying on national television” regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Responding, Falana dismissed the claim, stating, “I did not lie against the Supreme Court in respect of the judgment 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.”
He clarified further that the issue of the lawmakers’ defection was already pending before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, and that there is documentary and video evidence, including sworn affidavits, wherein the legislators themselves confirmed their defection.
Falana also addressed Wike’s earlier jibe, in which he dismissed him as a “television lawyer” who lost a case before the Supreme Court. The senior advocate responded that losing a case does not equate to professional misconduct, and only a corrupt lawyer wins every case.
“Mr. Wike is the only Life Bencher in Nigeria who has never handled a case in any trial or appellate court,” Falana said, adding that he refrained from responding previously out of respect.
The human rights lawyer maintained that his right to critique judicial decisions is enshrined in Section 39 of the Nigerian Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“Unlike Mr. Wike who calls judges names whenever they disagree with his politics of opportunism, I have always criticised the judgments of domestic and regional courts with utmost decorum and in good faith,” Falana said.
He emphasized that the Supreme Court itself has a tradition of welcoming constructive criticism. Citing Adegoke Motors Ltd v Adesanya, Falana reminded Wike of Justice Oputa’s iconic declaration: “We are final not because we are infallible; we are infallible because we are final.”
He also He also recalled comments by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who encouraged lawyers to point out judicial missteps to strengthen the justice.
Dismissing the notion that critiquing court judgments amounts to professional misconduct, Falana dared Wike to report him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee if he believes any ethical boundaries were crossed.
In his closing remarks, Falana cautioned against politicizing judicial discourse and warned that the Supreme Court’s recent pronouncement on defection—requiring party registers as proof—could be exploited by “unpatriotic politicians” to legitimize political prostitution.
“It is high time Mr. Wike was prevented from further parading himself as the unsolicited defender of the Nigerian judiciary,” he concluded.
