Falana Threatens Lawsuit Against FG Over Luxury Homes for Judges

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has threatened to institute legal proceedings against the Federal Government over the allocation of newly built luxury houses to judges in Abuja's Katampe District, describing the move as discriminatory and inconsistent with the constitutional principle of equality before the law.

Falana made his position known in a video shared by NewsCentral on Thursday, where he questioned the legal basis for providing exclusive housing benefits to judicial officers while many other public servants continue to grapple with poor welfare conditions and inadequate accommodation.

The senior lawyer said he was disturbed after watching the official handover of the houses to judges, arguing that government policies must not create special privileges for a select group of public officials at the expense of others.

"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," Falana said.

He questioned the legality of the housing initiative, insisting that all citizens should be treated equally under the law.

"Yesterday, I was watching the television and 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, however, clarified that he was not opposed to judges receiving decent accommodation, acknowledging the importance of providing judicial officers with secure and comfortable living conditions to enable them discharge their constitutional responsibilities effectively.

He argued, however, that similar attention should be given to other categories of public servants who also play critical roles in national development.

"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 stated.

The senior advocate warned that the policy could soon be challenged in court, maintaining that government actions must comply with the constitutional guarantee of equality.

"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 added.

To buttress his argument, Falana cited university lecturers as an example of professionals whose welfare has received little attention despite their contributions to the country's development. He noted that many professors neither enjoy official accommodation nor adequate remuneration, saying government should adopt a more equitable approach to the welfare of all public servants rather than conferring exclusive benefits on a single category of officials.