KEY POINTS

• Falana defends his position on the Rivers Assembly defection case.

• He challenges Wike to report him over alleged misconduct.

• Falana warns against judicial rulings that may justify political defections.

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has challenged Nyesom Wike to report him to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.

Falana said this in a statement on Sunday titled I Did Not Lie Against the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

He accused Wike of trying to incite the Supreme Court against him over his judgment analysis. Falana said Wike misrepresented the facts and called his claims spurious and tendentious in every material way.

Wike, during a press conference in Abuja, criticised Falana’s comments made during a Channels TV appearance. “If someone of Femi Falana’s calibre can go on national television and lie, it’s very serious,” Wike said.

“Lies can cause a lot of crises,” he added during his statement at the conference.

Supreme Court defection ruling remains under legal scrutiny

Falana clarified that he did not lie about the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Rivers State House of Assembly crisis.

According to Punch, he said the defection of the 27 lawmakers was still pending before the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt. “All I said was that the matter was raised suo motu and determined by the Supreme Court Justices,” he explained.

Falana said there were video recordings and an affidavit confirming the lawmakers defected to the APC.

He stated that his criticisms of judgments are protected by both national and international human rights laws. “My right to criticise judgments is guaranteed by Section 39 of the Constitution and Article 9 of the African Charter,” he said.

Falana accuses Wike of judicial hypocrisy and challenges him

Falana said Wike has a history of attacking judges when rulings do not support his political interests.

He maintained that his criticism has always been delivered with respect and good faith.

Falana warned that the Supreme Court’s latest ruling could encourage political opportunism in Nigeria.

He called on the court to follow its earlier rulings that defecting lawmakers automatically lose their seats. He insisted Wike’s attempt to discredit him had failed and challenged him to pursue legal redress.

“Since he has become the unsolicited defender of the judiciary, I challenge him to report me,” Falana said. He also stated, “Only a corrupt lawyer wins all cases in all courts.”