Renowned human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has issued a challenge to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, daring him to report him to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee over his legal commentary on the Supreme Court’s recent ruling concerning the political turmoil in Rivers State.
In a statement released on Sunday, entitled “I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria”, Falana strongly refuted Wike’s claims, asserting that the minister’s allegations were an attempt to incite the judiciary against him.
Contrary to Wike’s assertion, Falana maintained that he neither misrepresented nor distorted the Supreme Court’s position on the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. “Mr Wike’s claims are spurious and tendentious in every material particular,” Falana stated, adding that the minister had no basis for his public attack.
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The dispute emerged after Wike, during a press briefing in Abuja, accused Falana of mischaracterising the Supreme Court’s ruling while speaking on Channels 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 said.
Responding to the accusations, Falana said: “Mr Wike subjected me to yet another scurrilous attack at a press conference, where he alleged I lied about the defection status of certain legislators during my appearance on Channels TV.”
Falana clarified that the matter of the lawmakers’ defection was still under judicial consideration at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt when the Supreme Court delivered its ruling. He further explained, “I did not lie against the Supreme Court. All I said was that the issue of the defection was raised suo motu and determined by the learned Justices of the apex court.”
The SAN added that the defectors themselves had provided confirmation of their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) via sworn affidavits and video evidence.
He also underscored his constitutional right to critique judicial decisions. “My right to comment on and critique judgments is enshrined in Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and also guaranteed under Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”
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Falana did not mince words in accusing Wike of double standards, stating, “Unlike Mr Wike, who vilifies judges whenever rulings go against his political interests, I have consistently critiqued court decisions with due respect and in good faith.”
Citing the iconic words of the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa in *Adegoke Motors Ltd v. Adesanya*, he remarked, “We are final not because we are infallible; rather, we are infallible because we are final.” He also referenced former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who once urged the public to help the judiciary identify its own missteps.
Falana firmly challenged the Minister: “If he believes I have breached any rule of professional conduct, let him petition the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee.”
On the broader issue of legislative defections, Falana warned against recent judicial interpretations that require proof via party registers, stating that such a standard could “embolden unpatriotic politicians to justify political prostitution in Nigeria.” He urged the judiciary to remain consistent with its previous rulings in Attorney-General of the Federation v. Atiku Abubakar and Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly, which held that defecting lawmakers lose their seats.
Falana concluded by asserting that Wike’s efforts to discredit him had not succeeded and reaffirmed his commitment to speaking truth to power.
