Falana exposes how Wike wants to manipulate the supreme court against him
Nigerian Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has challenged the former River State governor, Nyesom Wike, to report him to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee about Falana’s analysis of the Supreme Court judgment on the Rivers State political crisis.
This was revealed in a statement released on Sunday by the senior advocate which he titled “I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria.” In the statement, the SAN accused Wike of attempting to stir up tension between him and the apex court, but has never succeeded.
He asserted that he neither misrepresented nor distorted the court’s judgment, contrary to what the Federal Capital Territory minister has claimed.
Falana also noted that as opposed to what the FCT minister asserted, he didn’t misinterprete or lie about the apex court’s decision about the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who moved from PDP to APC.
Femi Falana as waved off dismissed the FCT minister’s assertion as “spurious and tendentious in every material particular,” claiming he was working to set the Supreme Court against him.
In a press conference in Abuja, Nyesom Wike openly criticised Femi Falana. He claimed that the senior lawyer misrepresented the Supreme Court’s ruling while speaking on Channels TV. The FCT noted “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 to this, the SAN stated, “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.”
Moreso, Falana noted that the case of the lawmakers’ defection was still at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt during the time the Supreme Court gave its order.
Falana further explained , “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.”
Further, Falana also pointed out that there are video recordings and a sworn affidavit where the lawmakers themselves admitted to defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Buttressing his point, Femi Falana emphasised that he has aright to criticise court judgments. He also noted that his is protected by the country’s 1999 Constitution and international human rights law.
He said “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.”
Additionally Falana called out Wike for being hypocrite. He also pointed out that the Wike has a history of criticising judges when their judgement doesn’t favour him.
Further challenging the FCT minister, Falana added “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.”
Adding details on the legislative defection, Falana cautioned that the apex court’s recent stance (demanding for a proof of defection via party membership registration), may cause some “unpatriotic politicians to justify political prostitution in Nigeria.”
