metro
Falana slams Wike on houses for FCT judges, says it’s unconstitutional

Falana slams Wike on houses for FCT judges, says it’s unconstitutional
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday, once again flayed the construction of houses for judges and justices by the Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), saying the action is unconstitutional.
Speaking on a programme on Channels Television, he said the action is an embarrassment to the Judiciary which ought to maintain its independence as one of the three arms of government in Nigeria.
It would be recalled that in September, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the construction of 40 housing units for judges and justices in the FCT.
FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, revealed this to State House correspondents after the 18th Council meeting, which was chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
He said the decision was part of the government’s Renewed Hope Housing agenda to provide secure and convenient accommodation for judicial officers.
Of the 40 units to be constructed in the Katampe District, 20 will be allocated to the FCT High Court, 10 to the Federal High Court, and 10 to the Court of Appeal.
The land on which the houses would be built was seized by the FCT administration from the construction giant, Julius Berger Nigeria.
Nothing wrong with what I did – Wike
Speaking yesterday during a media chat, the FCT minister denied allegations the building of the houses for judges in Abuja was aimed at “pocketing them for political gains”.
READ ALSO:
- Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
- Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
- FBI raids home of crypto platform Polymarket CEO, after accurate prediction of Trump win
Wike insisted that the project was approved in the 2024 budget, and that he was only performing his duty by implementing it.
He said the building of the judges’ quarters was not his policy but part of welfare packages that President Tinubu designed for the judges to promote the independence of the judiciary.
Wike said Tinubu asked him, ‘Where are the judges living? They have no homes and are, therefore, open to political manipulations and for me as a president, who wants to guarantee the independence of the judiciary, judges must have their homes’.
“I am not Mr. President; I am only lucky to be appointed as a minister under this administration and who is in the position to implement his policies. Mr. President said, look, this is what he wants; come up and see what we can do.
“It was approved by Mr. President, sent to the National Assembly in the 2024 budget that there should be construction of judges and justices’ quarters; that they should move judges from where they are renting houses, living among criminals.
“It is in the budget of 2024, appropriated by the National Assembly, assented to by Mr. President which is a law. What is the problem? I am only the implementer,” he said.
Wike further insisted that there was nothing wrong even if it was his idea to construct homes for judges, adding that he did something similar as governor of Rivers State.
Falana counters minister
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today last night, Mr. Falana maintained that such action was not good for the Judiciary.
“As a member of the body of benchers, there is provision for it under the current democratic dispensation. There are three arms of the government, the Judiciary, the Executive and the Legislature. Each of them today enjoys financial autonomy; in fact, there are three judgments of the Federal High Court to the effect that the judiciary is financially autonomous.
“One of them was obtained by my friend, and the other by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN). Those judgments were disobeyed. When President Muhammadu Buhari also tried to recognise the independence and financial autonomy of the Judiciary via Executive Order at the tail end of 2020, governors also went to court and the Supreme Court declared it illegal. But the National Assembly and all the states’ Houses of Assembly later amended the provisions of the constitution to declare in Section 23, that all the funds of the Judiciary every year at the federal level shall pass to the National Judicial Council (NJC).
“For the states, the budget of the Judiciary, the money would be given to the heads of courts.
“So, if you want to buy cars, build houses, they are to be carried out from the budget of the Judiciary. The minister did not answer the question which was to the effect that; can you give houses to the judges before whom you have cases? Because, justice must not just be done, it must be seen to have been done.
“And people in the Executive must stop embarrassing the Judiciary. Now, look at the contradictions; it is more like the governor of Kaduna, Zamfara, Cross River or Lagos State coming to give federal judges houses in Abuja; no!
“The Minister of FCT operates like a state governor by virtue of Section 299 of the Constitution. So, he cannot say ‘I am going to build 40 houses: 10 have gone to the Federal High Court, 10 to the FCT High Court and 10 have gone to the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. No!” he said.
Mr. Falana further stated: “Because you are a minister of the federal government like a state governor, your budget is limited towards the affairs of the Federal Capital Territory. So, you cannot as the head of the FCT be dishing out cars and houses to the judges in the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
“Secondly, you have cases before these courts. On the theory of equality before the law, you cannot be seen to be giving cars or houses to judges who are going to determine your cases. And that is why the autonomy of the Judiciary has now been constitutionalised.
“In 2024, what was initially budgeted for the judiciary was N116 billion, but when the National Assembly was convinced on the need for houses and cars for judges and so on and so forth, the budget was increased to N345 billion.
“So, our judges don’t have business going to the Executive to get cars and houses for them. We must now have to operate under the law. Under the constitution, there is no provision for it”, he affirmed.
Falana slams Wike on houses for FCT judges, says it’s unconstitutional
metro
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS

200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
The Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, has disclosed that about 200,000 repentant terrorists have so far dropped their arms and surrendered to troops in the North East, noting that the twin strategy of kinetic and non-kinetic operations was responsible for this achievement.
The CDS made this known at the Security and Justice Symposium organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in collaboration with the British High Commission, which began at the National Counterterrorism Centre in Abuja on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the theme of the symposium, ”Securing Peace, Ensuring Justice, Protection, Conduct, and Accountability,” speaks volumes about the deluge of security challenges the armed forces and security agencies are facing.
His words, “All the challenges we are facing today have to do with fairness, equity, justice, and accountability.
“There will not be peace without justice, equity, fairness, and accountability. In our operations, we are conducting both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies, which have to a large extent yielded significant successes, and we want to particularly thank the National Security Adviser for his great support in this regard.
“Nigeria is going through so many challenges, and we feel we’re able to address this, and everybody has a sense of belonging. A lot of the security challenges we are having, we are sure, will go down. I want to thank the National Security Advisor for all the support he’s given us, both the kinetic and the non-kinetic.
“We have said it; the kinetic aspect is just less than 30%. The non-kinetic has a lot to play. The non-kinetic, because when you have democracy, people must have the evidence of democracy. As long as it tells people to sleep well and be peaceful, and they are hungry, their children cannot eat, and all this creates more problems.
READ ALSO:
- Canadian university offers funded national scholarship program for 2025
- Israeli strikes pound central Beirut, suburbs
- Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
“The issue of informants. We have to look at how we tackle this issue of informants. Because these are the people who have created the issue.
200,000 repentant terrorists surrender, drop arms in North East – CDS
metro
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police

Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
The spokesperson for the police in Delta State, SP Bright Edafe, has confirmed the death of two robbery suspects in the state.
Mr Edafe, who disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Warri, said that the deceased were killed from the bullets shot by their gang members.
According to him, the incident occurred on Wednesday at Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of the state.
Mr Edafe explained that the deceased were leading the police surveillance team attached to the Ekpan Division to their hideout when they were caught during a shoot-out.
READ ALSO:
- French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
- French football star, Paul Pogba’s blackmail trial begin in Paris
- Vigilante arrested in Anambra for robbery
“The suspects were arrested at Effurun roundabout with a bag containing 57 live cartridges and other items. They were leading the surveillance team to their hideout at Warri/Sapele road when their gang members, on sighting the vehicle of the police team, engaged them in a shootout.During the gun duel, the arrested suspects that were leading the police team were fatally wounded by the gun shot of their colleagues. The two injured suspects were taken to the hospital and later died while receiving treatment,” he said.
Mr Edafe said that items recovered from the hoodlums hideout included: one English pump action gun, one locally made cut-to-size gun and eight live cartridges.
Others were: six iPhones, Smart phones and a Rolex wrist watch.
He said that the command had intensified manhunt on the fleeing members of the gang.
Robbers kill two members in shoot-out with Delta police
(NAN)
metro
Akwa Ibom businessman abducted, driver killed, police orderly injured

Akwa Ibom businessman abducted, driver killed, police orderly injured
-
metro10 hours ago
BREAKING: Port Harcourt refinery begins operation
-
Business2 days ago
Just in: Dangote refinery reduces petrol price for marketers
-
metro1 day ago
40-foot container falls on car in Lagos
-
Politics2 days ago
2027: Lagos Speaker, Obasa joins gov race, may battle Seyi Tinubu, others
-
Politics1 day ago
Lagos 2027: Seyi Tinubu campaign team releases his life documentary
-
International1 day ago
Trump to sack 15,000 transgender officers from U.S. military: Report
-
Entertainment1 day ago
Polygamy best form of marriage for Africa – Okey Bakassi
-
metro1 day ago
Policewoman dismissed in Edo threatens to kill children, commit suicide