Erupted Controversy: ‘I Didn’t Lie Against Supreme Court’: Falana Fires Back At Wike Over Rivers Lawmakers’ Defection Saga

The controversy erupted after Wike, during a press conference in Abuja, accused Falana of misrepresenting the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the status of 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC)....READ ORIGINAL & FULL CONTENT FROM SOURCE | READ ORIGINAL & FULL CONTENT FROM SOURCE...

Prominent human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has debunked claims made by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, accusing him of lying about a Supreme Court ruling on the defection of lawmakers in Rivers State.

In a detailed statement released on Sunday titled “I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria,” Falana described Wike’s accusations as “spurious and tendentious in every material particular,” adding that they were aimed at inciting the apex court against him.

The controversy erupted after Wike, during a press conference in Abuja, accused Falana of misrepresenting the Supreme Court’s recent decision on the status of 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The former governor said: “If someone of Femi Falana’s caliber can go on national television and lie, it’s very serious. Lies can cause a lot of crises.”

But Falana swiftly fired back, asserting that his comment was grounded in fact and consistent with the judiciary’s own pronouncements.

“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. “My comment was based on the undeniable fact that the vexed issue of the defection… was pending in the Port Harcourt judicial division of the Federal High Court at the material time.”

Falana also reminded the public that the lawmakers in question had, in both video recordings and sworn affidavits, admitted to defecting from the PDP to the APC.

He questioned Wike’s outrage, stating: “It is public knowledge that Mr. Wike praised the Supreme Court to high heavens and held a thanksgiving service to celebrate the decision… However, he decided to attack me for commenting on the same judgment without any legal justification.”

In defence of his constitutional rights, Falana pointed to Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, both of which protect freedom of expression, including the right to critique court rulings.

He further challenged Wike’s understanding of judicial decorum and the role of lawyers in strengthening democracy.

“Only a corrupt lawyer wins all cases in all courts,” Falana remarked, adding that he chose to initially ignore Wike’s remarks because “Mr. Wike is the only life bencher in Nigeria who has never handled a case in any trial or appellate court.”

While stressing that he has always critiqued court judgments “with utmost decorum and in good faith,” Falana cited former Supreme Court Justice Chukwudifu Oputa’s famous line: “We are final not because we are infallible; rather we are infallible because we are final.”

He also recalled former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, who once told lawyers: “You have the responsibility of drawing our attention to where things are going wrong or on the verge of going wrong.”

Falana dismissed Wike’s recent call for the Body of Benchers to discipline lawyers who criticise judicial decisions, challenging the minister to instead file a petition against him with the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee if he believes there’s evidence of professional misconduct.

On the substance of the defection issue, Falana expressed concern over the precedent set by the recent ruling, which he said could encourage political cross-carpeting without consequences.

“In their wisdom, the Lordships said that defection can only be proved with the production of the register of members of political parties. My fear is that this decision will be waived by unpatriotic politicians to justify political prostitution in Nigeria,” he said.

Falana urged the Supreme Court to continue to rely on precedents like Attorney-General of the Federation v. Atiku Abubakar (2007), Dapialong v. Dariye (2007), and Abegunde v. Ondo State House of Assembly (2015), which established that legislators who defect without just cause automatically lose their seats.

In closing, the activist-lawyer warned that Wike must not be allowed to assume the role of “unsolicited defender of the Nigerian judiciary,” adding: “It is high time that Mr. Wike was prevented from further parading himself as such.”