Lagos, Nigeria – Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has dared the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to petition the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) over his comments on the Supreme Court judgment concerning the Rivers State political crisis.
In a strongly worded statement released on Sunday, titled “I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Falana accused Wike of making baseless allegations in an attempt to incite the apex court against him. He clarified that his analysis of the Supreme Court ruling—delivered during an appearance on Channels Television—did not amount to falsehood or misrepresentation, contrary to Wike’s claims.
The senior lawyer maintained that his remarks focused on the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, an issue he said was raised and addressed suo motu by the Supreme Court justices. He noted that the matter was still pending before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt when the apex court gave its verdict.
Falana supported his position with sworn affidavits and video evidence allegedly showing the lawmakers confirming their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He warned that the Supreme Court’s new stance—which demands proof of defection via party membership registers—could pave the way for what he described as “political prostitution.”
Responding to Wike’s accusation that he lied on national television, Falana said, “Mr. Wike subjected me to another scurrilous attack during a press conference, claiming I misrepresented the judgment. But the records are clear—I did not lie.”
He argued that his right to critique judicial pronouncements is constitutionally protected under Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and reinforced by Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Challenging the FCT minister to act on his threats, Falana said, “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.”
The senior lawyer also accused Wike of hypocrisy, saying the minister has a pattern of verbally attacking judges whose rulings don’t align with his political interests. “Unlike Mr. Wike, who calls judges names whenever they disagree with his politics of opportunism, I have always criticised court judgments with decorum and in good faith,” Falana said.
He cited the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa’s famous line, “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 urged lawyers to point out when the judiciary veers off course.
Meanwhile, Wike, during his recent media address, mocked Falana for allegedly losing a case he had previously won at the Supreme Court, branding him “a television lawyer.” Falana, however, brushed off the taunt, stating, “Mr. Wike is the only life bencher in Nigeria who has never handled a case in any trial or appellate court.”
He added, “It is no crime if a lawyer loses a case in any court. Only a corrupt lawyer wins all cases in all courts.”
Concluding his response, Falana declared that Wike’s effort to tarnish his reputation and sway the Supreme Court had failed. “It is indubitably clear that the allegation leveled 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,” he said.
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