Falana Threatens Court Action Over FG’s Allocation Of Luxury Homes To Judges

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has threatened to institute legal action 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 unconstitutional.

Falana argued that while judges are entitled to decent accommodation, extending exclusive housing benefits to one category of public officials without similar consideration for other public servants violates the principle of equality.

Speaking in a video shared by News Central, the senior lawyer said he was disturbed by the handover ceremony he watched on television and questioned the legal basis for the initiative.

“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,” he said.

“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. I asked myself under what law we are operating because it is discriminatory and illegal. You must treat us equally in our country.”

Falana clarified that his objection was not to judges receiving official accommodation but to what he described as unequal treatment of other categories of workers.

“Judges are entitled to accommodation, by the way. They must live comfortably and work securely, but other citizens must be equally provided for,” he said.

He warned that the housing policy would soon face judicial scrutiny, insisting that the government could not lawfully confer such privileges on one class of public officers while neglecting others.

“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.

The senior advocate cited university lecturers as an example, lamenting that professors who make significant contributions to national development are poorly remunerated 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 also criticised the housing and welfare benefits enjoyed by former governors who are now members of the National Assembly. According to him, about 21 former governors continue to receive legislative salaries and allowances while retaining housing entitlements both in their states and in Abuja, unlike career civil servants who retire after decades of service with little or no comparable benefits.

“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 governed for four or eight years, and another house in Abuja. And you have a civil servant who has worked for 35 years and is just turned out at the end of the day,” he said.

He maintained that the principle of equality before the law must be upheld in the allocation of public resources.

“So, we must insist that equality before the law in our country is respected,” Falana stated.

The housing project forms part of the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s initiative under the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, to build 40 residential units for judges in Katampe. President Bola Tinubu has already commissioned some of the completed houses for judges of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.

Wike has said the houses will be allocated on an owner-occupier basis, subject to the approval of the President.

However, the initiative has continued to attract criticism from some stakeholders, with opponents arguing that the allocation of the houses could create the perception of undue influence over the judiciary.