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”.
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.
