Human rights lawyer, Chief Femi Falana (SAN) has vowed to institute legal proceedings against the Federal Government over the allocation of newly completed luxury homes to judges in the Katampe area of Abuja, describing the move as unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Falana argued that while judicial officers deserve decent accommodation, extending such benefits exclusively to them without making similar provisions for other categories of public servants violates the principle of equality.
While speaking in a video shared by NewsCentral on Thursday, the senior lawyer said he was troubled after watching the official handover of the houses on television, insisting that he could not identify any law that justified the exercise.
“We have got to a stage in the country where we need to challenge the special privileges given to the rich and top public officers in the country.
“Yesterday, I was watching the telly, I was very sad when I saw that the federal government was handing over the keys of houses to judges, and I asked myself under what law we are operating from, because it’s discriminatory and illegal. You must treat us equally in our country,” he said.
Falana stressed that his position should not be interpreted as opposition to providing accommodation for judges, noting that judicial officers require secure and comfortable residences to effectively discharge their duties.
“You can’t take out judges. Judges are entitled to accommodation, by the way. They must live comfortably; they must work securely, but other citizens must be equally provided for,” he said.
He maintained that the government’s decision to favour one category of public officials over others would soon be subjected to judicial scrutiny.
“If you don’t do it, you can be challenged, and that is going to happen very soon, because what is good for the goose is good for the gander,” he said.
The senior advocate also drew attention to the welfare of university lecturers, lamenting that professors, despite their vital contributions to national development, receive poor remuneration and increasingly lack access to staff housing.
“If you have a professor who also has to render services to society, and those professors are not paid well, nobody talks of providing houses for them now. They were living in rented quarters. These days, there are not enough quarters for them, so we must also look at that,” he said.
Falana further criticised the benefits enjoyed by former governors currently serving in the National Assembly, alleging that many continue to enjoy multiple housing privileges while career civil servants retire without similar support.
“Governors who are in the National Assembly, about 21 of them, are taking salaries from the National Assembly and jumbo allowances, and they are also entitled to a house in the state where they govern for four or eight years, and another house in Abuja. And you have a civil servant who has worked for 35 years, and he’s just turned out at the end of the day,” he said.
Reiterating his position, Falana called for equal treatment of all Nigerians under the law.
“So, we must insist that equality before the law in our country is respected,” he said.
The Federal Capital Territory Administration, under the leadership of Minister Nyesom Wike, is constructing 40 housing units for judges in Katampe. President Bola Tinubu has already commissioned completed phases of the project for judges of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Wike had stated that the houses would be allocated to judges on an owner-occupier basis, subject to the approval of the President.
The initiative has, however, generated public debate, with some critics describing the housing allocation as capable of creating the impression of undue influence over the judiciary.
