“You have active cases in the courts, you can’t be “gifting” judges houses and cars” — Femi Falana tells Wike
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and Human Rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, has criticised the gifting of houses to judges by the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Recall that in September, the minister flagged off the construction of 40 houses for judges in the Katampe District in the nation’s capital, Abuja, sparking public outrage.
Wike stated that, upon completion, 20 of the houses would be allocated to judges of the FCT High Court, 10 to judges of the Federal High Court, and the remaining 10 to judges of the Court of Appeal.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday, Falana argued that it is inappropriate for the executive branch to give gifts to members of the judiciary, particularly judges.
He said, “The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory operates like a state governor by virtue of the section 299 of the Constitution. So, he cannot say I am going to build 40 houses, 10 shall go to the federal high court, 10 shall go to judges in the FCT high court and 10 shall go to the court of appeal and supreme court, no.
“Because you are a minister of the Federal Government like a state governor your budget is limited to the affairs of the FCT. So, you cannot as the head of the FCT be dishing out gift of cars, houses to judges in the federal hight court, in the appeal court and the supreme court.
“Number two, you have cases before these courts, on the theory of equality before the court you cannot be seen to be giving cars or houses to the judges who are going to determine your cases.”
Falana emphasized that judges’ housing should be managed by the National Judicial Council, adding that any assistance from the executive to the judiciary should be routed through the National Assembly.
“If the executive wants to assist the judiciary, the appropriate approach is to go to the national assembly. You can have a supplementary budget,” he said.
“If it has been discovered that the judiciary needs housing in Abuja, then the national assembly should make the necessary appropriations.
“But the constitution does not anticipate that the minister of the federal capital territory, like a governor of Kogi, Ondo, or Cross River State, would offer cars and houses to judges in the federal public sector. No.
“That is why this matter needs to be properly scrutinised and resolved in line with the provisions of the Constitution.
“Judges need houses, of course. Judges need cars, of course. They need security, of course. But these should be provided by the NJC within its budget.”
Meanwhile, the Federal Capital Territory FCT minister, Nyesom Wike denied on Wednesday that the housing project for judges in Abuja is intended to secure political influence over them. He clarified that the initiative is not his own but part of President Bola Tinubu’s welfare plan to support judicial independence.
Wike who spoke on Wednesday evening during a media chat in Abuja said the decision is part of the welfare packages of the Federal Government meant to enhance the independence of the third arm of government.
According to him, the project was already captured in the 2024 budget and his duty as Minister is to implement it.
