In this interview with CHIDI NWACHUKWU, eminent lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, SAN, speaks on some issues that occupy the front burner of legal discourse in the polity.

Does the Senate have the right and power to suspend Senator Ali Ndume over his involvement in the Senate’s investigation of the Senate president Bukola Saraki and Senator Melaye?

The Senate has no powers to suspend a member or remove a member even for one single day. In the first place, the statement made by Senator Ndume on the floor of the Senate are privileged by virtue of Legislative Powers and Privileges Act. Since he enjoys absolute immunity with respect to comments and contributions made by him, no punishment can be imposed on him. Secondly, Senator Dino Melaye who felt offended by the publication which had questioned his credentials has sued the media. The senator is asking for N5 billion from the publishers of the media. Since the matter is subjudice, by the rules of the Senate, it cannot be investigated by the Ethics and Privileges Committee of the Senate. Thirdly, the Senate has no powers to investigate allegations of crime such as under-payment of customs duties or forgery of customs papers, or forgery of certificate, or false claims. These are matters for the police; they are not within the purview of the National Assembly. The case of Akomolafe and the State House of Assembly presided in the Second Republic has settled that with respect to suspension of members of the legislative house. When Hon. Dino Melaye and 10 others were suspended from the House of Representatives in 2010 by the Dimeji Bankole-led House of Representatives, I was the lawyer engaged by the aggrieved members of the House. We went to the Federal High Court, and the court set aside the indefinite suspension on the ground that by the rules of the House, no member could be suspended for more than 40 days. But in the case of the Bauchi House of Assembly vs Hon. Dana Rifkatu, the Court of Appeal held that the legislative arm cannot suspend any member even for one day because when you do that, the constituency represented by the legislator, who voted for the legislator, the democratic right of the constituency to representation has been violated when a member is suspended. Therefore, members of the constituency have the right to go to court and ask for damages against any House or legislative body that does that. Again, the law is settled on this one.

Sometime ago, you advocated for the removal of immunity for public office holders to curb their excesses and stem the tide of impunity in governance, do you still hold that stance?

There are only 74 public office holders in Nigeria that are entitled to immunity, that is the President, the Vice President, the 36 states governors and their deputies. I strongly believe that nobody should enjoy immunity with respect to criminal offences, and that is the trend in International Law. Nigeria has ratified the Rome’s Statute under which the International Criminal Court was set up. Under that statute, a sitting head of state is not entitled to immunity with respect to crimes against humanity and genocidal acts. So, since Nigeria is a signatory to that international treaty, I’m of the view that we need to domesticate that law so that nobody will need to enjoy immunity with respect to criminal offences. I have no problem with civil cases because the government is sued on a regular basis, but with respect to criminal offences like corruption, murder, grave and serious crimes, the society has to deal with them, with immediacy.



What is your take on the continued detention of the likes of El-Zakzaky, Nnamdi Kanu and Sambo Dasuki, whom the courts have granted bail, but are still under detention. What do you think about their continued detention?

Unfortunately, the Buhari administration does not seem to appreciate that we are operating a democratic dispensation, otherwise, once a court has ordered that somebody be released on bail as in the case of Col. Sambo Dasuki and Nnamdi Kanu, the government cannot dance around it. It is worse in the case of Dasuki because three courts have admitted him to bail, in addition, the ECOWAS Court has even slammed damages of N50 million against the government for disobeying the orders of the court which is a violation of the right of personal liberty under the African Charter of Human Rights. The case of Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky and his wife is the worst case of human right violation, with respect to the right of personal liberty since the colonial regime. This is the first time that a man and his wife are detained illegally for over a year, and in spite of court order that they be released and be paid damages, and be provided temporary accommodation since their house was illegally demolished by the Kaduna State government and the army. It is the height of impunity that has ever been committed by a democratic government in this country. We are taking steps to ensure compliance because nobody is above the law.

Even under a military dictatorship headed by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, nobody was detained without an order made, pursuant to a decree, the States Security Detention of Persons Decree Number 2 of 1984. Nobody was detained without an order made by the detaining authority. Today, there is no such law. So, our case cannot be worse under a democratic dispensation as against what occurred in a military junta. So, there can be no justification whatsoever for detaining any Nigerian without a court order. It is worse when a court has ordered the release of a person, and the government still holds and keeps such a person.

Based on your stance as a counsel to the Socio Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, do you support the popular call that the president should make public the details of his medical bill abroad?
You have to ask the SERAP people about that, I’m a lawyer, but if you’re asking for my view, that’s a different matter. I’m not supposed to adopt….if I’m a lawyer to your organization, LEADERSHIP, and defending your people when need be, that does not mean that I share the views of your organization.

So, do you support the popular call for the publicizing of the details of the president’s medical bill abroad?


The government has no choice in the matter. But the media has to do its own work. Instead of going around asking for views, why don’t you take advantage of the law? By virtue of Section 22 of the Constitution, a duty has been imposed on the media to promote public accountability and transparency in governance.

To actualize that duty, the National Assembly has enacted the Freedom of Information Act. Under Section 14 of the Act, the president cannot be forced to disclose the nature of his illness, but since a budget was approved for a clinic for the presidency, why has your newspaper not made a request. If the request is refused, why don’t you go to court, so that the court can order the disclosure? Please use the law, don’t go about asking for views when the law is very clear.

Finally, do you think the National Assembly is being fair by refusing to make its budget public?


Again, you have a duty there. The media has a duty there. It’s not about fairness. We are dealing with public funds. There can be no secrecy about it. Again, if your newspaper is interested to know the details, you can make a demand, and if the demand is not met, you are required to approach the court and demand for an order of mandate to compel the National Assembly to disclose the details of their budget. What the laws says is that the president shall pursuant to Section 81 of the Constitution, set out the details of the revenue and expenditure of the government. So, the details must be known, that is what the Constitution says. Section 81 stipulates that the details shall be set out. Once the budget is passed into law, you can’t have a general item. The details must be specified by law. So, why don’t you go and look at the budget and if it is not specified, you can challenge the Ministry of Finance for violating Section 81 of the Constitution. Let’s try and operate under the Constitution and other relevant laws, and ensure that the laws are enforced.



http://www.leadership.ng/news/580561/detention-of-el-zakzaky-and-wife-is-the-worst-case-of-human-right-violation-since-colonial-era-falana

Who takes Falana serious this days?

If I talk now, dem go call me enemy of the state

So, let's hear from the friends of the state

karma is making buhari cook n do the dishes

you detaining people unlawfully

karma is detaining your health

Sarrki's moniker has been hijacked


Can't believe it is him

Sarki, this one you are opening a thread 4:00 am in the morning, are you on night duty at BMC?

luvinhubby:
Sarki, this one you are opening a thread 4:00 am in the morning, are you on night duty at BMC?

No be morning shift I dey ooo



How sherif meeting go yesterday?

Learn the camp is getting hotter

Stay safe bro

ConqueredWest:
Sarrki's moniker has been hijacked


Can't believe it is him

lol you honestly believe sarrki zombieism is curable.....




that guy don enter point of no return


this post is just a glitch in his system

dunkem21:
If I talk now, dem go call me enemy of the state

So, let's hear from the friends of the state

I can't but dash you a like

mykeljosef:





lol you honestly believe sarrki zombieism is curable.....




that guy don enter point of no return


this post is just a glitch in his system

I swear you just make me laugh uncontrollably after so many years

The sunnis hate the shiites and regard them as infidels or second grade muslims...likewise in nigeria, the high handedness of the sunnis and their cabals in govt would see Zakzaky being locked up throughout this dispensation, all thanks to bubari.

mykeljosef:





lol you honestly believe sarrki zombieism is curable.....




that guy don enter point of no return


this post is just a glitch in his system

The fuel injector is bad and needs cleaning with fuel

dunkem21:


The fuel injector is bad and needs cleaning with fuel

Coming from sarrki the Oba of Zombies himself?



I suspect a foul play.

dunkem21:
If I talk now, dem go call me enemy of the state

So, let's hear from the friends of the state

Nairaland. Never a dull moment.

Oya, friends of the state. Over to you.

Saarki u sure say them don pay u ur zombie allowance this month? It's like u woke up from d wailing side of ur bed. Lol

dunkem21:
If I talk now, dem go call me enemy of the state

So, let's hear from the friends of the state

Abi o, anyone that speaks against the ills of the present government is either an "ipod yoot" or "wailer". I can't understand why they are averse to criticism. As if APC and Buhari weren't the most vocal critic of Jonathan, now they are being paid back in their own n coin, they are showing how thin-skinned and incorrigibly adamant they are