Human Right lawyer, Femi Falana, said on Monday that June 12 should not be seen as a Yoruba struggle but a national movement that gave birth to 18 years of uninterrupted democratic rule in Nigeria.
Falana stated this at a public lecture to mark the 24th anniversary of the June 12 presidential election tagged: ‘Hope ’93: Dream Deferred’ held in Akure, Ondo State.
The event was organised by the Ondo State Government on the presidential election presumed to be won by the late Chief M.K.O Abiola.
The election was later annulled by a military government headed by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd).
He described June 12 as a national movement, saying “it is wrong for any Nigerian to tag it a Yoruba struggle.”
Falana was quick to advocate for proper restructuring of Nigeria, which he described as not negotiable.
He said political restructuring without economic restructuring was not the solution to the under-development of the country.
Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, said the June 12 struggle remained a special day in the nation’s political history.
The governor said many believed that the June 12 phenomenon transcended the individuality of late Abiola and should not be forgotten.
He also renamed the Democracy Park in Akure as the MKO Abiola Democracy Park, saying the meeting was not a political gathering.
Some eminent Nigerians have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking another medical leave immediately to attend to his health.
They gave the advice in a statement jointly issued on Monday and titled: “President Buhari Should Take Medical Leave Immediately.”
Those that made the call included lawyer and activists, Femi Falana (SAN); Senior Fellow at the Centre for Democracy and Development, Abuja, Prof. Jibrin Ibrahim; Executive Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), Mr. Debo Adeniran; Senior Lecturer / Researcher, Centre for Peace and Security Studies, Modibbo Adama; lecturer at the University of Technology, Yola, Adamawa State, Dr. Chris Kwaja; Executive Director at Centre for Information Technology and Development CITAD), Dr. Y. Z. Ya’u and Country Director, Search for Common Ground, Mr. Chom Bagu.
Others are the Chairman, Human and Environmental Development Agenda, (HEDA), Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju; Chairman, Partners for Electoral Reform (PER), Ezenwa Nwagwu; Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Mr. Anwal Musa Rafsanjani; Executive Director of African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ), Rev. David Ugolor; a Senior Communication Officer (Policy) in the World Bank Group. Dr. Sina Odugbemi; National Coordinator, Procurement Observation and Advocacy Initiative (PRADIN), Mr. Muhammed Attah, and Executive Secretary, Socio Economic Rights Project (SERAP), Mr. Adetokunbo Mumuni.
The call was made following President Buhari’s absence at the last Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting and other state functions.
The statement reads: “When President Muhammadu Buhari was recently in the United Kingdom on a medical vacation, which lasted 59 days, many public officers said he was hale and hearty. But upon his return to the country President Buhari disclosed that he had never been that sick in his entire life.
“Even though the President did not disclose the nature of his ailment, he revealed that he went through blood transfusion. While thanking the Nigerian people for their prayers, the President announced that he might soon travel back for further medical treatment.
“A few weeks ago, the Governor of Kaduna State, Mr. Nasir El-Rufai urged Nigerians to give President Buhari time to recover from his sickness. The plea was made after the Governor had visited and presumably assessed the state of the President at the presidential Villa in Abuja.
“However, due to the apparent deterioration in the President’s health condition, he has neither been seen in public in the last one week nor attended the last two meetings of the Federal Executive Council. His absence at the last Jumat service in the Villa has fueled further speculations and rumours on President Buhari’s medical condition.
“But instead of embarking on regular briefing on the actual state of the health of President Buhari, officials of the Federal Government have continued to assure the Nigerian people that the is no need for apprehension over the matter.
“In defending the absence of the President at the last FEC meeting and other state functions, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Garba Shehu stated that the President’s doctors have advised on his taking things slowly, as he fully recovers from the long period of treatment in the United Kingdom some weeks ago.
“As we join the Nigerian people of goodwill to pray for a speedy recovery of President Buhari, we are compelled to advise him to heed the advice of his personal physicians by taking a rest to attend to his health without any further delay.”
The Association for Credible Leadership in Nigeria (ACLN) acknowledges the proposed visitation of the Senate President of Nigeria, Dr Bukola Saraki to the United States, unfortunately, he is not welcomed as planned in early May.
We cannot hold back from revealing how disappointed we, like many Nigerians, are with the Senate President and his Senate, who have failed to address the several cases of corruption levelled against them.
Sadly, Saraki in recent times said that a lot of stakeholders must respect the Senate institution; an institution that has only succeeded in further granting power and more wealth to elected few. No wonder the institution will demand respect that it could not earn.
•Saraki
Recall that Saraki, like many others in the senate, has ongoing cases that have practically been swept under the carpet. Among several corruption allegations which till date has not been answered but rather avoided are:
1. Saraki’s operation of foreign accounts between 2009 and 2012 while serving as a public office holder.
2. Saraki was the Kwara State Governor between 2003 and 2011. Till date, there are still unanswered allegations regarding his misappropriation of the public funds during his tenure.
3. Similarly, he was involved in the Panama papers controversy of 2016 and yet to resolve allegations of corruption levelled against the senate by the Paris Club.
4. According to the Head of Intelligence Unit at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Samuel Madojemu, Saraki was wrong to have earned monthly payments from the Kwara State government at the same time when he was already elected to the Senate.
5. Also worthy of mention is the fact that, it is under Saraki’s leadership that a key member of the Nigerian Senate was suspended for standing for the truth. Former Majority Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, was sent home for six months for filing a petition against Saraki and the lawmaker representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Senator Dino Melaye, who was involved in certificates forgery case. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria – Femi Falana in a recent interview declared this act of the senate as absolutely unconstitutional.
Aside a 6-month suspension of a fellow senator being unconstitutional, Saraki’s (Senate) Committee on ethics failed to address the raised issues, instead, they attacked the person. What a shame of a body of lawmakers’ institution.
6. For several years, the Nigerian Senate has operated a hidden budget despite the demand for transparency and accountability by taxpayers. A fight that the governor of Kaduna state Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has taken on himself by challenging the National Assembly to follow his example of releasing the Kaduna state audited budget.
ACLN commends governor El-Rufai for this action and hereby demand that Saraki and his team, as well
•Governor El-Rufai
as governors across the nation, release their audited budget otherwise they are not welcomed in the United States and are not fit to occupy the seats at the Nigerian National Assembly or Governor and at the ACLN, we will continue to hold them accountable. They are public office holders not private.
Unfortunately, what Saraki is expected to speak on at the Town Hall event at Crown Plaza Suites Hotel, 9090 Southwest Freeway, Houston on May 4th, 2017, is Brain Drain and ACLN could not but marvel at the disillusion of Saraki and his team. Our question is, what has he done with the brains of Bachelor and Master degrees holders who have remained jobless in Nigeria? What is the Senate doing to the youths unemployment/underemployment which according to the country’s bureau of statistics stood at an alarming rate of 45.65% for Q3 of 2016. Is that not chasing shadows?
To ACLN, it shows that Saraki and his team are disillusioned if they are concerned about Brain Drain but have not found a solution to the worrisome level of unemployment, poor infrastructure, shameful public institutions and rate of corruption in Nigeria.
With the facts stated above and more not mentioned herein, the ACLN insists that the Senate President is not worthy of coming to the United States to address learned, skilled and hardworking Nigerians who, in their little capacity, contribute to the uplift of the country back home.
Consequently, if Saraki eventually visits Houston, we hereby urge Nigerians in Houston and across the United States to rise up and show him our displeasure along with those of his colleagues in the National Assembly by protesting his presence. We cannot allow these rogues the pleasure of a peaceful visit to the U.S.A while they leave our fellow Nigerians languishing in misery back home.
ACTIVIST lawyer Femi Falana yesterday expressed reservations over the controversies trailing the cash found in a residential apartment on Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He urged the authorities to handle the matter with transparency to avoid a repeat of what happened to the $9.3 million ferried to South Africa in a private jet in 2014.
According to him, like the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) claimed the ownership of the $9.3 million, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) has come out to claim the sum of $43 million, N22 million and £27,000 seized by the EFCC last week.
Falana’s statement reads: “In 2014, two businessmen (an Israeli and a Nigerian) smuggled $9.3 million to South Africa from Nigeria. It was alleged that the private jet with which the fund was hauled was leased from the then President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor.
“Both suspects were arrested while the fund was seized. The additional sum of $5.7 million sent to South Africa through a bank by the duo was also seized. Although the Federal Government was not implicated in the transfer of the fund, the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) later claimed that the $15 million was meant for the purchase of arms from a firm in South Africa.
“As the ONSA could not justify the brazen contravention of the Money Laundering Act of South Africa, the fund was confiscated on the orders of a High Court in Pretoria. When tried last year to confirm from the Attorney-General of the Federation if the forfeited sum of $15 million had been recovered from the President Jacob Zuma regime, I was asked to direct my enquiry to the ONSA.
“It is hoped that history is not repeating itself with respect to the embarrassing attempt by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to claim the sum of $43 million, N22 million and £27,000 seized by the EFCC last week from a flat at a building in Osborne Road, Ikoyi.
“The Federal Government owes the nation a duty to handle this matter with utmost transparency and circumspection. The NIA should not be allowed to play on the collective intelligence of the Nigerian people. If the Federal Government believes the cock and bull story of the NIA, the danger is that similar hidden funds are going to be officially protected, thereby making a mockery of the whistle-blowing policy of the government.
“We must avoid a situation whereby huge funds hidden in abandoned buildings and apartments are said to be “operational funds” kept by certain security agencies. If the EFCC had refused to seize the fund last week, the whistle-blower could have rushed to the media to accuse the Buhari administration of keeping stolen money for the 2019 general elections.
“Apart from the NIA, the Rivers State government is also laying claim to the fund. But instead of giving the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to hand over the money to the Rives State government, Governor Nyesom Wike should instruct his attorney-general to file an affidavit at the Federal High Court.
“But before doing that, he should carefully study the case of FRN v CBN (unreported) where the application of the Delta State government to claim the bribe of $15 million paid to the then EFCC chairman, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, by a former governor of the state was dismissed as the applicant was unable to prove that it owned the money.
“On a more serious note, are Nigerians to believe that an agency of the federal government kept about $50 million in an apartment without adequate security personnel to guard the money? Why was the fund not kept in a safe in the well-fortified ONSA? When was the National Intelligence Agency exempted from the Treasury Single Account (TSA)?
“If the DG of NIA has just gone to brief President Buhari that the fund was collected from former President Goodluck Jonathan for a special project, why did the briefing not take place before now? Since the NIA is in charge of external security why was it necessary to execute projects in the country? How much of such fund is being kept in private homes by the NIA and other security agencies?
“Since the whistle-blowing policy of the Federal Government commenced why has the NIA not deemed it fit to take the anti-graft agencies into confidence with respect to the fund being kept in Ikoyi for the so called covert operations?
“Is the Federal Government not being exposed to ridicule when corrupt public officers are competing with government departments to hide millions of United States dollars in dump sites and ‘safe’ apartments? Anyway, since the Federal High Court has granted the application filed by the EFCC for an interim forfeiture of the fund, it is no longer an internal affair of the Buhari administration. Let the National Intelligence Agency approach the court with convert proof to claim the money.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday said human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana(SAN), did not appoint Chief of Staff for its Acting Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
It also said it has never handed over any property of a former Governor of Bayelsa State, the late Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to Falana.
The clarifications were made in a statement issued by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren.
The statement said: “Our attention has been drawn to a malicious and misleading report trending on the social media platforms that Ola Olukoyede, Chief of Staff, (CoS) to Ibrahim Magu, the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was a staff “seconded” to the Commission from the Chambers of Femi Falana (SAN).
“The report further alleged that Falana is a beneficiary of some of the properties recovered by the Commission from the late Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, former Governor of Bayelsa State, hence the secondment of Olukoyede to the EFCC.
“The allegations are not only unfounded but evil, as all the properties recovered from the former governor have been returned to Bayelsa State government.
“For the record, Olukoyede was not seconded to the EFCC by Falana and he has never worked in Femi Falana’s Chambers. He was head hunted based on his pedigree.
“Even if he had worked for Falana it may not have mattered as working for Falana is not a criminal offence in the nation’s statute.
“It is also important to state that Falana is not a counsel to the EFCC and has never interfered in the operations of the agency.
“The author of the mischievous and misleading information went ahead to give the telephone number of the CoS and asked members of the public to call and enquire if he was indeed a former staff of Femi Falana’s Chambers.
“He has therefore been bombarded with unsolicited calls by members of the public.
“Whoever is behind this criminal act should desist forthwith as any attempt to further malign the reputation of Olukoyede and the EFCC would not go unchallenged.”
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has condemned the recent arrest and parading of Mr Dickson Akor, the National Commandant, Peace Corps of Nigeria, by the Nigerian Police.
Falana spoke with newsmen on Saturday in Abuja after securing the release of Akor from police custody.
The police in a combined operation with the Depart of State Services and the Nigerian Army on Feb. 28, raided the headquarters of the Peace Corps of Nigeria in Abuja.
During the operation, they arrested Akor and 48 other members of the corps.
A statement issued by the Police Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, said intelligence reports showed that the Peace Corps and other similar groups were acquiring weapons and conducting covert trainings in different locations across the country.
In the statement, Moshood said such action violated a 2013 gazette of the Federal Government that banned such groups.
Falana, who described police invasion of the headquarters of the Peace Corps of Nigeria as illegal and unconstitutional, said that the organisation was not operating illegally.
He said, “generally, the parade of criminal suspects in the country by the Police is illegal.
“In this case, apart from the registration of its trustees under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, there are two judgments of the Federal High Court restraining the police from harassing and intimidating members of the organization.’’
The human rights lawyer said that he was also negotiating for the re-opening of the office of the Peace Corps of Nigeria.
“They must be allowed to operate under the law and we will get to that state where the police will appreciate that Nigeria is under-policed.
“We need volunteers, young men and women who should be organised by the state to handle those duties that will not require the intervention of the Police,’’ he said.
The human rights lawyer emphasised that crime like terrorism, herdsmen attack, armed robbery and kidnapping thrive in the country because the country is under-policed.
“As at 2011, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to engage the services of 380,000 police personnel, between then and now, only 10, 000 are being employed.
“There is no way you can police about 180 million people with barely 380, 000 police personnel out of which about 120, 000 are guiding the elite and corporate bodies in the country.
“I thought the police should have embraced a body like the Peace Corps of Nigeria to make their job easier because the Nigerian Police operates under very difficult situations.
“Most communities are not policed, so herdsmen move into farms and kill people.
“Nigerians have not developed a litigation culture of challenging the killing of every citizen either directly or indirectly for which the government can be blamed,’’ Falana said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the National Assembly on Nov. 24, 2016 passed a bill, which gives approval for the establishment of the Nigerian Peace Corps as an agency under the Ministry of Interior.
The Nigerian Peace Corps Bill seeks to empower, develop and provide gainful employment for the youths. (NAN)
Folarin Falana; ‘Falz’ is a household name known both in music and the movie industries, who won Best Actor in Comedy Movie/Series at 2016 Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards for his role as “SEGUN’ in Funke Akindele’s TV series titled: Jenifa’s Diary.
He is a fast rising Nigerian rapper and sSon of highly respected lawyer and activist Femi Falana. Falz was born into a family of three children on October 27, 199o, he attended St Leos Catholic Primary School in Lagos Nigeria and later to Olashore International Secondary School, Osun state Nigeria.
After studying law at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom he moved back to Nigeria to attend law school and was called to bar in February 2012.
Falz, who is still a practising barrister, has decided to still keep that part of him alive and still goes to court when the opportunity arises.
His music career started from his teenage days while he was in secondary school. He took it to another level in 2007 when he put together, a mix tape titled:’ Shakara’. He has been identified as a great talent by music veterans like Eldee, Don Jazzy and M.I. He is known for his trademark witty punch lines, short humorous Instagram videos, infusion of local dialects, and comedic lines.
Falz released a single titled “Waz Up Guy” in 2011, He went on to release ‘High Class’ and ‘Currency’ which gained him more grounds in the Nigerian music Industry.
He was nominated for ‘Best Collaboration of The Year” at 2015 Nigeria Entertainment Awards for his chart-topping single titled “Marry Me”.
His stage name Falz the Bahd Guy came from, short version of his last name, Falana. BAHD Guy is a title and acronym for Brilliant And Highly Distinct.
“I am quite shy but when I’m in the booth or on stage, I’m a different character,” he says.
Human rights activist Femi Falana has said that Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose would not escape justice because all explanations given after his account was frozen were in violation of various sections of the electoral and money laundering acts.
Falana also declared that there was nothing like absolute immunity for governors and president.
The constitutional lawyer explained that immunity does not apply to election fraud, money laundering or crime against humanity.
He spoke in Benin City yesterday while delivering the 60th birthday lecture of the Secretary to the Edo State Government, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere.
Falana noted that the Zenith Bank violated Section 90 of the Electoral Act going by the explanations of Fayose that the bank funded his campaigns.
This, he stated, meant the bank stole depositors fund to sponsor the election of an individual.
The human rights lawyer, who spoke on “The limit of executive immunity”, urged Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy Ike Ekweremadu to face the forgery charges against them rather than playing politics with the issue.
According to him: “The senate is now politicising the issue, saying it is political victimisation but not that the offence was not committed.
“As leaders of the National Assembly, you are supposed to be above board and that is even the more reason you must be careful.
“But I want to remind the senate that the Attorney General of the Federation is only answerable to his boss, which is the President and not body else.
“The same thing applies to the states. So there is no longer absolute immunity in this country.
Governor Oshiomhole eulogised the qualities of Prof. Ihonvbere stating that he was always available to during political strategies.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN) and rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN) said on Thursday that activities of professionals, particularly lawyers and judges were frustrating efforts by the Federal Government to curb acts of corruption and impunity in the country.
Lawal, Sagay, Falana and others, who spoke in Abuja at a workshop on the “Role of professionals in the fight against corruption,” were unanimous on the need for professionals to put societal interest above individual preferences, uphold professional ethics, and support government’s efforts to enthrone transparency in the conduct of state affairs.
The workshop was put together by PACAC, Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) and the Convention on Business Integrity (CBI).
Lawal said the role of lawyers and some compromised judges, who offer their expertise to indicted individuals and deploy delay tactics and other underhand methods to frustrate the successful prosecution of criminal cases, was particularly injurious to the federal government’s anti-corruption campaign.
Represented by the Director, Nigerian national Volunteer Services (NNVS), Tor Tsavsar, the SGF said there was need for professionals to see themselves as stakeholders in government’s anti-graft efforts if the country was to grow and attain needed development.
He said, “From recent revelations, corruption is usually aided and facilitated by conniving civil servants and professionals in the public and private sectors. It is no news that most stolen funds are laundered through our banks and other offshore entities that are owned and managed by professionals.
“A recent case of the ‘Panama Papers scandals’ is an example of how politicians, criminals and rogue industries were assisted by professionals to launder stolen funds. It is equally regrettable that some of the professionals do not stop at aiding, abetting and facilitating the stealing of public funds, but more often than not, go further to offer direct and indirect support to indicted officials to beat the law.
“It is no more news that corrupt officials are able to engage some of our seasoned lawyers, who employ negative tactics ‘in or out of court’ to frustrate trials of indicted officials. The retinue of frivolous interlocutory applications, which are pursued up to the apex court, while action on substantive matters are stayed, are common examples of how professional lawyers frustrate the fight against corruption.”
Sagay, who deplored the conduct of professionals who aid corruption and fraud, said the federal government was looking at ways of ensuring that those, who aid acts of fraud and corruption, are also prosecuted.
He said the workshop was intended to seek the support of professional bodies, and draw their attention to their responsibilities in this regard.
Falana urged the federal government and anti-graft agencies to look beyond public officers and politically exposed individuals to include professionals, drug dealers and human traffickers in their activities.
Lagos lawyer, Femi Falana(SAN), has said the Boko Haram member who impregnated and put Amina Ali, one of the Chibok girls, in the family way, should not be regarded as her husband but an abductor and terrorist.
He therefore advised the Borno State Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice to proceed to charge the terrorist with abduction, slavery, torture and rape without any further delay.
He gave the advice in a statement issued on Thursday night and titled: “Rescued Chibog girl has no husband.”
The statement said: “Yesterday, Amina Ali, one of the abducted Chibok girls was rescued by the Borno State Civilian Joint Task Force aided by the Nigerian Army.
“However, one of the terrorists who abducted her and had put her in a family way was arrested by the Nigerian army.
“The captured terrorist who was arrested with Amina is not her husband but an abductor and a rapist. The media should therefore desist from further referring to the criminal suspect as the husband of the girl.
“While congratulating the combined team of Nigerian army and the Borno State Joint Task Force who rescued Amina, we call on them to intensify their efforts to free the remaining Chibok girls.
“The Attorney-General of Borno State should proceed to charge the terrorist with abduction and slavery, torture and rape without any further delay.”
