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Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has condemned the recent actions of Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), over his decision to gift houses and cars to judges.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Falana described the gifts as "wrong" and a potential conflict of interest given the judiciary’s role in overseeing cases involving the executive.
In October, Wike launched the construction of 40 judges’ quarters in Abuja's Katampe District, a move that has sparked ethical concerns.
Falana argued that the minister's decision to allocate these assets, divided among federal and FCT high courts, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court, is a breach of constitutional limits on the powers of an FCT minister, who operates with similar constraints as a state governor.
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“The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory operates like a state governor by virtue of section 299 of the Constitution,” Falana stated. “You cannot be dishing out gifts of cars and houses to judges in courts where you have cases, as this breaches the principle of equality before the court.”
Falana emphasised that the Nigerian Constitution grants the judiciary financial autonomy, enabling it to manage its budget independently, without requiring executive assistance for amenities such as housing and transportation.
Additionally, Falana criticised Wike’s recent demolitions in the FCT, labelling the approach as "primitive" and legally unsound.
He argued that, according to the FCT’s Urban and Regional Planning Act, such cases should go through proper legal channels before a demolition order is issued.