“You Are Just An Arrangee Lawyer – How Many Major Cases Have You Won to Become SAN?” – Wike Mocks Falana
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has been challenged to disclose the number of major cases he has won and what contributions he has made to the development of the legal profession that warranted his appointment as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), apart from being labelled an “arranged and errand lawyer.”
Lere Olayinka, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, issued this challenge in a statement on Monday. He remarked, “It is funny and ridiculous that Falana believes only those who have handled cases in trial or appellate courts are qualified lawyers, and that a lawyer must appear in such courts to be eligible for appointment as a Life Bencher.”
Olayinka asserted that the FCT Minister earned his membership in the Body of Benchers on merit, citing his significant contributions to advancing legal education. He asked, “Apart from making noise on television, what has Falana done for the legal profession? Even the SAN designation he received was not a long-time afterthought. Was it not years after his peers had been honoured with SAN?”
He continued, “As Governor of Rivers State, Wike was instrumental in establishing and developing the campus of the Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt, which is now regarded as the best centre for legal education in Nigeria. He also played a major role in enhancing facilities at the Yenagoa campus of the Nigerian Law School by constructing a state-of-the-art 1,500-capacity auditorium and 200-bed male and female hostels, among other contributions.”
“Now that he is the FCT Minister, he is constructing 10 housing units for the Nigerian Law School in Bwari, Abuja. He has also provided operational vehicles to improve the school’s operations.”
“The question remains: what has Falana contributed to the legal profession? Even in Ekiti State, where he hails from, he has made no contributions.”
“Olayinka pointed out that the Bar Center in Ado Ekiti was built by Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), while that in Ikere Ekiti was constructed by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN). Additionally, Aare Afe Babalola has been financially supporting the Nigerian Bar Association’s annual lectures and assisting lawyers in Ekiti with medical treatments at his teaching hospital in Ado Ekiti. What has Falana done? Nothing!”
“Olayinka also highlighted Falana’s failure as a politician when he unsuccessfully contested for the governorship of Ekiti.”
He cautioned lawyers like Falana against misleading their clients and criticized him for allegedly lying on national television. Olayinka stated that Falana claimed the Supreme Court judgment regarding Rivers State “had nothing to do with who the authentic Speaker of the House is,” even though the Supreme Court determined the issue relating to the defection of 27 members of the House of Assembly.
Olayinka explained, “It was based on the Supreme Court judgment that Justice Emmanuel Obile of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt dismissed the suit filed by the Labour Party regarding the alleged defection, stating that the Supreme Court’s ruling had resolved the defection issue.”
“Yet, Falana went on television and misled his client by asserting that the Supreme Court had not ruled on the defection matter.”
“He also claimed that three members of the Rivers State House of Assembly could carry out legislative functions, despite Section 96 (1) of the 1999 Constitution stating, ‘The quorum of a House of Assembly shall be one-third of all the members of the House.'”
“If, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you can tell your client that Section 96 (1) of the Constitution is irrelevant and that three members can sit in a House of Assembly with 32 members, then serious questions need to be asked about how you qualified as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,” Olayinka concluded.
