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Tag: FEMI FALANA

  • We’ll arrest street kids, dump them in govt house – Falana

    Activist-Lawyer Mr Femi Falana on Thursday threatened to begin “arresting” street kids and moving them to government houses if the authorities fail to see to their welfare.

    Falana warned that an organization he belonged to would begin the operation in January from Lagos State.

    He said he had also filed a suit to compel the arrest of parents who prevent their children from going to school, or withdraw them prematurely.

    Falana spoke at the Third Professionals’ Week annual public lecture, themed ‘Corruption, ethics and good governance”, organised by the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), Lagos chapter.

    A former Lagos State University (LASU) Vice Chancellor, Prof Lateef Hussain, chaired the occasion, while Osun State Attorney-General, Dr. Surajudeen Bashiru; a former Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Monday Ubani, immediate past President of the Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), Arc. Abimbola Ajayi and Chief Executive Officer CMC Connect Ltd, were discussants.

    Falana bemoaned the rising menace of abandoned children and urged the government to take over their education.

    Read Also: Evans: Police hid me from Falana in a toilet

    He said: “I belong to an organization and we’re are starting with Lagos by January next year, any child we see on the streets of Lagos, we are going to arrest the child and dump that child in Alausa (Lagos State secretariat and seat of government), so that the people in Alausa will have sleepless nights putting all our children in school.

    “We have already filed a case in Abuja to arrest all parents who refuse to put their children in school, or who withdraw their children from school.

    “About four days ago, 12 parents were prosecuted in Niger State for withdrawing their children from school, so, we are not going to say it is not our business.”

    He argued that if government officials invested more in education, they would have less to steal.

    Falana said: “My position is this: if our governments have to put every child in school, there’ll be less money to steal, because you have to build new schools, expand the existing facilities and recruit teachers from the public purse.”

    The lawyer encouraged professional bodies to do more to stem the tide of corruption and impunity perpetrated or encouraged by their members.

    Citing lawyers as an example, he urged the NBA to dis-bar Attorney-Generals serving under executives who disregard the rule of law.

    Falana said: “If professional bodies are carrying out their statutory duties, it should be possible for the NBA to summon an Attorney-General whose government has disobeyed a court order to say ‘Mr Attorney-General, you either resign from that government or we remove you as a lawyer.’ I can assure you that everybody will sit up.”

    Prof Hussain urged professionals to live up to the ethics of their professions and stand their ground against abuse of due process.

    Dr Bashiru, who was represented by Dr Mubarak Adekilekun, canvassed a return to ethical values, like “discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, religious tolerance, self reliance and patriotism,” most of which, according to him, the country seems to be lacking.

  • Ooni, Falana, others for anti-corruption confab

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, will on Thursday lead other eminent Nigerians to a two-day conference on anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria.

    The parley which ends on Friday will also feature the launch of a book titled “To the Rescue: Say No To Corruption” written by a Canada-based Nigerian and Convener of International Gathering of Eagles Conference, Dr. Dele Dada.

    Other distinguished Nigerians expected at the event include the Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun,  Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina and Wife of Ekiti State Governor, Erelu Bisi Fayemi.

    The Managing Director of THE SUN Newspapers, Mr. Eric Osagie, will deliver a key note address at the conference scheduled to hold at Treasure Hall 11 in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos.

    Speaking with reporters in Ado Ekiti on Wednesday, Dada revealed that Ooni is expected to be the chief launcher/father of the day while Falana will serve as the book reviewer.

    Dada added that the Say No To Corruption Movement in Nigeria (SCMN) will also be launched at the event to serve as platform for every Nigeria to raise their voices and actions against corruption in the country.

     

  • Executive Order 5: Falana urges FG to take decisive political action

    Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, on Monday, called for decisive political action on the part of Federal Government to ensure effective implementation of Executive Order Five.

    Falana said this at the on-going Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria’s (CORBON) congress in Abuja with the theme “Standardisation and Innovative Technologies for Sustainable Development in Nigeria’s Construction Industry.”

    President Muhammadu Buhari had in February approved Executive order 5 which mandates Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to give preference to local engineering companies in the award of contracts in the country.

    The order is to grant priority to local companies on projects to the tune of 7.5 per cent, except in the absence of local engineers that could not execute the projects before international expertise could be deployed.

    “Executive order 5 is part of efforts by the Federal Government to promote Science Technology Acquisition and innovation in the country and the sector is the base for development.

    “Approving the order will boost the country’s economy and help the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

    “Executive order 5 allows for monopoly in procurement processes among MDAs and if the order must work, we need an office in the presidency to evaluate and monitor its implementation.

    “Nigerian registered companies are authorised to supervise contracts and projects in the country and there must be a decisive political action on the part of the government to make the executive order work,” Falana said.

    He further said that professionals in the industry should pressurise state governments to adopt the executive order for the benefit of all citizens.

    According to him, the FG is not taking the right steps in the right direction for the implementation of the order but professionals in the sector can facilitate it.

    Falana said that the country needed to properly harness its abundant human and natural resources to avoid relegating contracts and resources due to citizens to foreign expertise.

    He added that harnessing human resources in the country especially in the building industry required training and re-training of engineers to meet with the trends in the sector.

    “Building professionals have not taken steps to check quackery and you find people running the industry being foreigners that are not registered under the law.

    Read also: Evans: police hid me from Falana in toilet

    “In some situations, preference is given to unqualified foreign builders at the expense of our qualified local engineers. It is time registered builders take control of the building industry, “he said.

    He, however, said that the executive order was not a substitute to any act of the council or other professionals in the industry.

    He pledged to assist the council and other professional bodies in the industry pursue their acts enforcement.

    Falana called on the council to ensure buildings in the country met with international standards as well as accommodate the plight of persons living with disabilities.

    Mr Suleiman Zarma, Minister of State, Ministry of Works, Land and Housing said the Federal Government was strategising to liaise with the private sector to ensure best practices in the building industry.

    “With the high demand of affordable houses by Nigerians and the need to curb the incessant collapse of buildings in the country, there is need to engage the private sector”, Zarma said.

    Prof. Kabir Bala,Chairman of CORBON said the congress would provide the platform for players in the industry to network and interface with investors for professionalism.

    Bala said they were collaborating with the Office of the Vice President through its National Social Investment Programme to train artisans in the country.

    According to him, the training will position the beneficiaries for meaningful jobs and they will be certified by the council. (NAN)

  • A short memo to the ASUU National President:

    Dear Professor Biodun Ogunyemi:

    The following short statement was recently publicly made by Femi Falana, SAN. Please pay attention to the second and third paragraphs of the statement:

    “We often forget that the popular resistance against the structural adjustment programme imposed on Nigeria in 1986 forced the ruling class to concede some welfare programs which were enacted into laws. The products of the collective resistance include UBE Act (which has made education free and compulsory from primary to junior secondary school for every Nigeria child), Nigerian Education Bank Act (to provide loans to students to acquire education in tertiary institutions), Tetfund Act (to fund projects and promote scholarship in tertiary institutions). Others include Minimum Wage Act, Pension Reforms Act, Employee Compensation Act, National Health Insurance Act, National Health Act, Legal Aid Act, National Human Rights Commission Act etc.

    But these laws are not working due to the failure of the progressive forces led by the labour unions to hold the state accountable. For instance, as at the end of August this year, the sum of N86 billion was lying fallow in the UBE Account while 13.2 million children are out of school, the highest figure of out-of-school kids in the world. Tetfund has over N500 billion not accessed by our tertiary institutions while ASUU and other campus unions are regularly on strike. The pension fund is over N7 trillion while pensioners drop dead while queuing for payment.

    Let our concerned intellectuals ensure that the limited gains of the struggle of the Nigerian people are not lost due to sheer ignorance and inertia!”

    Sometime last year, Falana had forwarded a similar statement to me. Now, Comrade Falana is a legal retainer of ASUU, apart from being a passionate supporter of the Union in all its struggles. Upon getting that document from him last year, I convened a meeting with you and a few other ASUU officers at my house at Oke-Bola, Ibadan, a meeting which you graciously and respectfully attended. At that meeting, you stated that a Committee of ASUU was working on the allegation of “inertia” made by Falana. I am therefore surprised that more than a year later, the matter seems to be still pending or ignored. I think a statement from you is sorely needed to clarify actions taken by ASUU on this matter and where things really stand now. If you so desire, I can offer the space of this column to any statement you wish to make to clear the air on the matter.

  • Falana: $94b oil, gas cash not paid into Federation Account

    Human rights activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday said about $94billion was not remitted to the Federation Account.

    He said the cash covered cost of proceeds of stolen oil, revenue due to the government from the non-implementation of the Deepshore Offshore Inland Production Contract Act and tax on assets of oil firms that have divested interests in the oil and gas sector among others.

    Falana said it is shameful that Nigeria does not have accurate records of the volume of crude oil  produced daily in the country.

    He said had the money been paid into the Federation Account, the country would not have had cause to go China begging for loans to develop  infrastructure.

    Falana spoke yesterday at the public presentation of a report, “The Impact of Laws and Practice on the Taxation of Capital Gains: Oil and Gas Asset sales in Nigeria (2005 – 2015)” by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) at Citi-Heights Hotel, Opebi/Sheraton Road, Ikeja.

    The report was presented to the media by the immediate past Chairperson of Nigerian Taxation Standard Board, Mrs.Bimpe Balogun and a tax consultant, Mr Azeez Alatoye.

    Quoting from the report, Falana said about $270 million have not been recovered by the government due to the refusal of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to provide requested information on the oil firms that have divested interests in the oil and gas sector.

    “SERAP should proceed to compel the two agencies to supply the information so as to update the report.

    “Just yesterday (Monday),  NEITI disclosed that the NNPC and others have withheld the sum of $22.06billion and N481billion from the Federation Account.

    According to Falana, the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachukwu last year said the cash not recovered was $60billion due to the non-implementation of the Deepshore Offshore Inland Production Contract Act .

    According to him, a study was done between 2011 and 2014 by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on how much unrecorded oil was taken out of Nigeria.

    “In one port alone at Philadelphia, United States of America (U.S.A),  the difference between the oil recorded that was taken out from our port and the oil that arrived there was about 60 million barrels valued at $12.7 billion,” Falana said. He added that the report also called for massive advocacy and campaign “to force recovery of unpaid capital gains tax over the past 10 years from those who have not accounted for such after disposal of their interest in oil and gas assets.”

    The  lawyer urged SERAP to collaborate with NEITI to collect the huge fund without any further delay.

  • Falana, SERAP, ANN urge withdrawal of  travel ban

    LAGOS lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) and Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have asked President Muhammadu Buhari to withdraw the travel ban imposed on 50 high profile criminal suspects under Executive Order 6 (EO6).

    Falana, in a statement titled: “Allow the courts to impose travel ban on suspected looters”, said only the courts could impose travel ban on the suspected high profile persons”.

    He argued that since the power of the anti-graft agencies and the courts to place criminal suspects on watch list or subject their passports to temporary seizure has never been in doubt, “the directive to place the 50 high profile suspected persons on watch list and restrict their movement is highly superfluous, completely unwarranted and totally uncalled for”.

    The rights lawyer said the travel ban “is an ingenious design to expose the Buhari administration to ridicule”.

    Falana added that since the high-profile suspects covered by EO6 had been placed on a watch list and their passports  seized by either the anti-graft agencies or the courts, the travel ban slammed on them by President Buhari ought to be withdrawn without any delay.

    Falana said the travel ban was a sad reminder of the placement of political opponents on security watch list and seizure of their passports by the defunct military junta.

    He noted that a Federal High Court last week upheld the constitutional validity of the Executive Order 6 (EO6) issued by Buhari on July 5.

    The lawyer added that the government, acting on the ruling, directed the Nigeria Immigration Service and other security agencies to place no fewer than 50 high-profile persons directly affected by EO6 on watch-list and restrict them from leaving the country pending the final determination of their cases.

    He said even though the names of the “50 high profile persons” have not been published by the Federal Government, they are presumed to be either standing trial in the various high courts or being investigated for corrupt practices by the anti-graft agencies.

    “If the Federal Government had done some background checks, it would have discovered that the names of the 50 VIPs have long been placed on a security watch list while their passports have been impounded by the anti-graft agencies or the courts as one of the conditions for admitting them to bail.

    “It is public knowledge that whenever the defendants wish to travel abroad for medical treatment, they usually apply for the interim release of their passports.

    “Since the courts have taken judicial notice of the perilous state of medical facilities in the country, such applications are usually granted. And once the suspects return from the foreign medical trips, their passports are returned to the registry of the trial courts,” he explained.

    Falana, however, regretted that indigent accused persons standing trial for stealing, fraud or other economic crimes  are not entitled to such a privilege because they have no money to acquire passports not to talk of paying for foreign trips and medical treatment abroad.

    Notwithstanding such judicial indictment of politically exposed persons seeking medical treatment during trial, he contended that the law has not authorised the executive to restrict the movement of criminal suspects.

    He counselled the Buhari administration to wage the war against corruption within the ambit of the rule of law.

    SERAP, in a statement, said Executive Order 6 (EO6) banning 50 alleged high-profile corrupt Nigerians from travelling abroad was illegal and repressive.

    SERAP said the order, “without any legal basis and a judicial authorisation, is clearly arbitrary, repressive and illegal, as it breaches constitutional rights and the country’s international obligations, which protect the rights to freedom of movement, to leave one’s country, to privacy, and to due process of law.

    ”A travel ban by its nature is an interference with the right to leave one’s country. It is neither necessary nor proportionate to prevent dissipation of stolen assets or stop politically exposed persons (PEPs) from tampering with any such assets.”

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary Akinloye Oyemiyi, the ANN said:  ”We know that Section 41 of the 1999 Constitution as amended legally guarantees the right to freedom of movement to all Nigerians and this right can only be tampered with by established laws as enshrined in the Section 45 of the same constitution and not by any draconian executive order targeted at political opponents by a president that is scared of electoral defeat.”

    A former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said he was not bothered about a travel ban.

    He said: “I could not give a damn that my name is on the list of 50 members of the opposition and prominent Nigerians that have been placed on a travel ban because nothing that Buhari does surprises me.

    “I have not left Nigeria since 2008 because my passport has been with the EFCC and the courts for the last 10 years and they have refused to give it to me and allow me to travel.

    “Those on the travel-ban list that need to travel abroad for medical attention or to see their loved ones are the ones I feel sorry for.”

  • Obasanjo has right to support any candidate, says Falana

    Activist lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has said that it is the right of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support any presidential candidate of his choice.

    Reacting to his recent endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, he said Obasanjo has a constitutional right to do so.

    “Former President Obasanjo has a constitutional right to support any presidential candidate of his choice.

    “It is however hoped that God will forgive him for supporting Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” he said.

  • Falana’s request

    The claim that the State Security Service (SSS) has about 294 suspects in its custody, awaiting trial, is shocking. It is shocking because, except for the notorious detention of Col. Sambo Dasuki and Sheik Ibrahim El Zakzaky, which we abhor, there is no information that as many as 294 other citizens could be languishing in SSS cells. The shock morphs into disbelief because, unlike in the military era when abuse of fundamental human rights was rampant, we are operating a constitutional democracy, which prohibits unlawful detention of citizens.

    So, when one of Nigeria’s foremost lawyers, Femi Falana (SAN), claims that he has information about such a huge number of detainees, every Nigerian democrat must be alarmed. We therefore join him to demand that the SSS must release information on the names and alleged offences of the detainees, forthwith. Indeed, we urge President Muhammadu Buhari, who swore openly to defend the 1999 constitution (as amended) to immediately order for a discreet report on the alleged detention, for immediate oversight action.

    Falana, who came under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, last week, wrote to the then Acting SSS Director-General, Mathew Seiyefa, demanding for information with respect to the said detainees. He claimed to have received the information from some of the detainees recently released from the SSS custody by Seiyefa. The released detainees reportedly claimed that the 294 persons were detained in underground cells in dehumanising conditions.

    The eminent lawyer wrote: “in exercise of my right under the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request you to avail me of the names of the 294 detainees and the particulars of the criminal offences allegedly committed by each of them. In case any of the detainees has been charged with any offence in any court of law, you are also requested to supply the details of the cases and the trial courts.” The DG of the DSS is compelled by law to provide the requested information within seven days, from the receipt of the letter.

    Falana went further to remind the DG of the provisions of the constitution prohibiting such illegal detention, as alleged. In the letter, he wrote: “no person can be legally detained beyond 48 hours without a court order in any part of Nigeria under the current democratic dispensation.” Bearing this constitutional imperative in mind, he admonished the agency: “you will agree with me that the detention of the 294 persons in the custody of the DSS for over two years is the height of official impunity”.

    He restated that such impunity: “constitutes a gross infringement of their fundamental human right to personal liberty guaranteed by section 35 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, and Article 6 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.” We agree with the above statements on human rights of citizens, and have every belief that the President would agree with the submission.

    Considering that as military Head of State in the 1980s, the Buhari regime, in its efforts to clean the mess left by the civilian government that it overthrew, was viewed as highhanded on human rights, we urge the President not to be associated with such tendency as a democratically elected President. The warning is even more imperative, because the immediate past Director-General of SSS had shown himself to be contemptuous of the rule of law, and his sins must not be visited on the President.

    We earnestly doubt if President Buhari could have acquiesced to such huge number of detainees by the SSS. After all, the agency is not the police empowered to prevent, detect and prosecute crime; responsibilities that could yield a high number of detainees awaiting trial. We wonder under what guise the SSS could be fishing in crime waters to harvest such a high number of detainees. Considering that the SSS is a secret police, its operations are mostly discreet, and except for acts threatening national security, once its opacity is about to be compromised, such investigation ordinarily should be handed over to the police to deal with, and where necessary, to prosecute.

    The alleged impunity is further heightened by the claim by Falana that the detention had lasted for over two years. If that claim is true, then those involved have done a huge discredit to the integrity of the President as an elected democrat. That is why the President must dig deep, to find out whether there are those who, while pretending to be loyal to him, are remarkably undermining his reputation. Without prejudice to the investigation, we demand that the detainees be released without further delay.

     

  • Court awards N10m damages against DSS

    For illegally detaining journalist for 2 years

     

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has declared unlawful the detention of a journalist, Jones Abiri for two years without trial by the Department of State Service (DSS).

    In a judgment on Thursday, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba awarded N10 (as damages) and N500, 000 (as cost) against the DSS.

    The judgment was on a fundamental rights enforcement suit filed by Abiri, through the law firm of Femi Falana (SAN), which was prosecuted by a lawyer in the frim, Samuel Ogala.

    Justice Dimgba was of the view that, although the DSS has the power, under the law, to arrest anyone upon reasonable suspicion, the security agency was without powers to detain an individual beyond the time provided by the Constitution.

    He held that the decision by the DSS to detain Abiri for two years from July 21, 2016 until he was later taken to a Magistrate’s Court in Abuja in July this year, and his eventual release last month, amounted to a violation of his right to liberty, guaranteed by the Constitution.

    The judge, who noted that event with the DSS’ claim that the applicant was arrested upon suspicion of destruction of oil pipelines and committing treasonable offences, said that Jones was accused of committing serious offence, was not a ground for the DSS to detain him beyond the time stipulated in the Constitution.

    Read Also: Ex-DSS boss still in custody

    He wondered why the DSS, who claimed to have obtained a voluntary confessionary statement from the applicant since August 16, 2016, did not charge Abiri with the offences of damaging oil pipelines before the Magistrate’s Court, but rather charged with a different offence.

    Justice Dimgba distinguished the case of Abiri from that of Asari Dokubo in which the Supreme Court held that national security precedes individual’s rights.

    The judge noted that the facts of the Abiri case is different from that of Dokubo in that while Dokubo was charged to court and the state objected to bail on the ground that national security was threatened, in this case, Abiri was never charged, but kept in solitary confinement.

    He said was possible that the respondent could have conveniently charged the applicant to court within the time provided in the Constitution.

    Justice Dimgba said from evidence before the court, it was obvious that the DSS violated the applicant’s right to liberty by detaining him for two years without charging him to court within the time allowed by law.

    He also declared as unlawful Abiri’s detention for two years.

    Abiri, described as the publisher of a Bayelsa State-based weekly paper, Weekly Source, was arrested by operatives of DSS on July 21, 2016 in Yenagoa the state capital) and brought to Abuja where he was detained until July this year without trial.

    The DSS had accused him of engaging in economic sabotage by destroying oil pipelines and running a militant organization called the Niger Delta Liberation Force.

    Upon his release, he filed the fundamental rights enforcement suit, challenging his detention and prayed for N200m damages.

  • Improve welfare to fight corruption, says Falana

    To effectively fight corruption, prominent lawyer, Femi Falana has advised the government to improve welfare.

    Speaking while delivering the 19th Mike Okonkwo annual lecture titled ‘Nigeria’s Unity: Matters Arising’, at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Wednesday, the human rights lawyer said: “If the government genuinely wants to fight corruption it has to review the wages of workers, ensure prompt payment of salaries and pension. Furthermore, the government should implement other welfare laws and institutionalize the rule of law and respect the human rights if citizens.”

    Falana attributed the disunity in the country to the inequitable distribution of wealth.  He said peace would only reign when the wealth of the nation is enjoyed by all.  He added that redistribution of wealth would make restructuring meaningful.

    “Nigeria is not a united country and we can’t have a unity of the oppressor and the oppressed.  Elites do not fight for the people and professional bodies are now run on the basis of ethnicity.  While we must fight corruption, we need to know what has happened, to our wealth. Unless we revisit the redistribution of the nation’s wealth there cannot unity.

    “Instead of handing over the country to market forces, government should control and regulate the economy in a way that our abundant resources are channeled towards addressing the crisis of underdevelopment,” he said.

    Read Also: Falana to leaders: you have contempt for rule of law

    Regarding killings in various parts of the country, Falana faulted religious leaders for identifying with only those belonging to their fold as victims of attacks.  On the contrary, he said deaths of all Nigerians should be condemned and the perpetrators brought to book.

    “Nigerians should henceforth condemn the killing of any citizen or any alien living in our midst and demand that justice be done”, he said.

    Falana urged state governors to fight for their freedom.  He said he was in support of state policing, adding that if a new Nigeria must emerge, then there must be community policing.

    The lawyer also faulted President Muhammadu Buhari’s stance on the supremacy of national security over the rule of law in relation to, saying only the courts could define national interest.

    In his speech, Chairman of the event and former Minister of Commerce and Industry in the then Eastern Region, Chief John Nwodo, blamed the youth for not actively participating in politics.

    He said many of Nigeria’s prominent leaders started politics in their 20s/30s and called on parents to properly mentor their wards so they can play positive roles in governance.

    Also speaking the Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode, represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Adebule said only as a detribalized group could Nigerians develop the country.

    Bishop Mike Okonkwo, in whose honour the lecture holds annually, said Nigerians must drop tribalism in favour of national interested.

    He added that the President must be President for all regardless of his political leanings, tribe or religion.

    The programme climaxed with the presentation of prizes to winners of the 15th Mike Okonkwo National Essay competition for Senior Secondary School pupils.