Femi Falana Archives - Naija Premium Gist

ASUU strike will be called off in days- Femi Falana

October 10, 2022 No Comments

A Senior Advocate of Nigerian (SAN), Femi Falana has expressed optimism that the lingering strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will be called off in days and not weeks.

Falana who is the legal counsel of ASUU stated this during an interview with Channels TV on Monday, October 10.

Recall that last week, the Court of Appeal ordered the striking lecturers to return back to their classrooms before their appeal can be heard.

Falana said he will advise his clients accordingly once the certified true copy of the court order has been made available to him.

“The legal advice that I will give to my clients is confidential. But I can assure you that the strike will soon be called off.

Advising clients to call off a strike is the most difficult aspect of my practice. On one occasion, Chief Gani Fawehinmi (SAN) and I spent six hours persuading Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and other NLC (Nigeria Labour Congress) to call off a strike in compliance with a court order.

Our advice to ASUU will be based on the court order and other relevant reports.

I am reasonably confident that the consultations between the House and the Presidency will yield positive results in the interest of the striking lecturers and the students” he said

University lecturers in public universities have been on strike since February 14, 2022, over poor welfare and unpaid earned academic allowances.

After several failed attempts to resolve the issues, the Federal government took ASUU to the National Industrial Court where they secured an injunction ordering the striking lecturers back to work.

ASUU approached the court of appeal Abuja but their appeal was thrown out last week Friday, October 7.

Politics

Lawyer sues Falana, nine others over demand for independent panel to probe #ENDSARS killings

January 11, 2021 No Comments

An Abuja based human rights lawyer, Lucky Odigie, has sued the constitutional lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), and nine other persons at the Federal High Court, Abuja, over calls for an independent judiciary panel to probe alleged killings during last year’s #ENDSARS protest in the country.

Other defendants are Ade Atambi, Adewale Adeoye, Chino Obiagwu (SAN), Affiong Affiong, Prof. Adenike Ogushe, Y.Z Yau, Malachy Ugwumadu, Fatima Umar and Olumide Ogele.

Odigie, who filed the suit though his lawyer, Oghenovo Otemu, asked the court to restrain the defendants from setting up any parallel independent inquiry to probe alleged killings of Nigerians during the protest.

The plaintiff, in the summons, asked the court to determine whether by virtue of the Tribunals of Inquiry Act Cap 447 LFN 1990 and all other extant Federal and State laws, can validly and legally constitute or set up a parallel independent panel of inquiry to probe the #ENDSARS killings.

He also prayed the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendants from conducting any parallel independent inquiry to probe any alleged killings of Nigerians, including security operatives and the destruction of properties following the deployment of security operatives in the wake of the #ENDSARS protests in Nigeria.

In an affidavit to support his lawsuit, Odigie said:

“The defendants cannot validly and legally constitute or set up a parallel independent panel of inquiry to probe the killing of Nigerians, including security operatives and the destruction of properties following the deployment of security operatives during the #ENDSARS protests in Nigeria.”

He added that the action of the defendants in setting up a parallel panel of inquiry to probe the #ENDSARS killings was targeted at undermining the different panels set up by the different state governors to probe allegations of police brutality and human rights abuses by security agents.

Politics, World News

Nobody should believe the military because it has a history of lies, fraud and deception- Femi Falana

October 29, 2020 No Comments

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), says the families of #EndSARS protesters killed by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate are afraid to speak out because they “understand the environment under which we operate”.

Falana spoke on Wednesday at an ‘#EndSARS Zoom Meeting Global’ hosted by Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore.

At the virtual meeting , Falana urged Nigerians and the international community not to believe the explanations offered by the Nigerian Army on the Lekki shootings.

The Nigerian Army, after an initial denial, yesterday, admitted that its operatives were at the Lekki toll gate on Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

The military authorities also claimed they were invited by the Lagos State Government, noting that they acted within the rules of engagement.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, however, said the army has “a history of lies, fraud and deception” while making reference to the Shiites incident of December 2015.

Falana said, “Nobody should believe the military because it has a history of lies, fraud and deception.

“Just in December 2015, the same Chief of Army Staff, General (Tukur) Buratai claimed that there was a traffic jam in Zaria and the big man wanted to move and because of that traffic, he got soldiers from the first division in Kaduna to mow down Shiites.

“And what was the explanation? That the Shiites wanted to assassinate the Chief of Army Staff…and about six or seven persons died.

“But in the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Kaduna State Government, we were told that indeed 347 Nigerians were killed by the military. No autopsy, no postmortem, nothing was done. Their bodies were taken away in the dead of the night and given a mass burial.

“And people will ask you, if anybody lost his child in Lekki, why have they not come up? Who has come up in the case of Zaria? Because you must understand the environment under which we operate.

“By the way, some of those injured in Lekki had to forcefully discharge themselves because they were told in the hospital that they were going to be held liable for the riot in town. And so, everybody had to move.

“But as of today, the governor of Lagos State has admitted that two people lost their lives. The circumstances would have to be explained later but those two were among those shot by the soldiers.”

Falana also stressed that the military has no business enforcing curfew under the Nigerian laws.

“We are involved in the investigation and we are going to unravel the entire mystery surrounding the attack in Lagos,” he insisted.

The Lekki attack has been condemned by both local and global civil rights personalities and organisations including Amnesty International which claimed at least 10 protesters were killed by the Nigerian forces at the Lekki toll gate.