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Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has faulted the Federal Government’s plan to have former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, serve the remainder of his prison sentence in Nigeria.
Ekweremadu is presently serving a prison sentence in the UK over a case of organ harvesting.
He questioned the rationale behind the decision, wondering why the government failed to intervene in the other 232 Nigerians serving in British prisons.
Fanala spoke on Thursday in Abuja at the opening of Legal Year of Faculty of Law, University of Abuja. The event was organised by the Law Students Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), UNIABUJA Chapter.
Promising to take up the issue, the legal practitioner also questioned the prisoner exchange programme, arguing that there is no British citizen currently serving in Nigerian jail.
Speaking on the face-off between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike (FCT) and naval officer, A. M. Yerima, on a property belonging to an ex-Chief of Naval Staff, the learned silk faulted both parties for taking the laws into their hands.
While saying that the Minister was lucky not to have been shot during his confrontation with the soldier, the senior lawyer, however, stressed that both parties erred in law.
He stated that although Wike was carrying out his statutory responsibilities as enshrined in Section 11 of the Land Use Act, his failure to exercise emotional intelligence and his use of derogatory language toward the military officer gave him out.
He cited a case in Ghana where a minister had to apologize for making uncomplimentary remarks about a taxi driver, emphasizing the importance of dignity and respect.
“On no ground should a Minister force himself and abuse the military officer. No Minister has the power to call any Nigerian a fool. Mr President should compel the Minister to apologise. He was lucky he was not shot.
“The military officer contravened the law by preventing the Minister from doing his legal duty. The officer engaged in illegal duty to guide the land of a private person. So when he said he was acting on superior orders, those orders are illegal. But the Minister went off track. Even the President can’t call any Nigerian a fool”, Falana said.
He said Nigerians are impressed that even in the heat of provocation, the officer did not lose his patience.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Litigation as a bloodline of justice: Building the next generation of advocate’, he urged the law students to leverage technology, expressing satisfaction that courts across West Africa are increasingly adopting virtual hearings and electronic filing of court processes.
He also tasked them to take more than a passing interest in the affairs of the country.
