Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, says he will sue the Federal Government over the allocation of new luxury houses to judges in Abuja’s Katampe district. He calls the move discriminatory and a breach of equality before the law.
Speaking in a video posted by NewsCentral on Thursday, Falana questioned the legal grounds for giving judges exclusive housing perks while other public workers struggle with poor welfare and housing shortages.
“I watched the handover on television yesterday and felt saddened,” he said. “Under what law are we operating? It is discriminatory and illegal. We must treat everyone equally in this country.”
Falana stressed he is not against judges having decent homes. “Judges deserve comfortable and secure accommodation to do their work,” he noted. “But other citizens should get the same consideration.”
He warned that the issue will soon be tested in court. “Government policies must follow the Constitution’s equality principle. If you fail to do it, you can be challenged, and that will happen soon. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”
The senior advocate pointed to university lecturers as an example of neglected public servants. Many professors, he said, lack official housing and earn poor salaries. He also criticized benefits for former governors now serving as lawmakers, saying they keep multiple entitlements while career civil servants retire with little support.
Falana concluded that special privileges for top officials must be challenged. “We have reached a point where we need to question these advantages,” he said.