Nigeria is a theatre of political absurdities. Nothing in Nigerian politics surprises me. Politics is not people-based. No, it is not. Nigerian politicians are not predictable. They changed political parties at will depending on where their personal interests are buttered, even when the constitution may have prohibited it. I think political parties in Nigeria are just associations of the same fellows in different vehicles. These politicians can abandon any of the vehicles and their fellows beings for the other vehicles just for their comforts and not the interests of the people.

I think we have no party and party discipline in Nigeria. The political parties we have are just parties in name. The political parties are just vehicles for misconduct. Nigerian politicians, except a few, have no respect for parties’ discipline. I think the best thing in the Nigerian political lexicon is prostitution.

Many Nigerian politicians have polygamous political platforms. They are not faithful to any political party. Politics of political fornication and waywardness has destroyed political maturity and principled politics founded on ideologies that better the lot of the people. Once a Nigerian politician senses that he or she is out of water of sharing of the national cake, he or she returns to the same dirty water condemned day before yesterday. Such is the brand of our democracy. That is why today, Nigerians are at the mercy of bad governance.

In Nigeria, many of the politicians are members of almost all political parties. These politicians have their hands and legs in almost all political parties’ activities, though dual membership of political parties is outlawed. You see politicians in one party canvassing for votes or promoting candidates of other parties, and nothing happens to them. There is political rascality openly professed and displayed by people who ought to show leadership. Nigeria is almost doomed. I weep for my country.

Most of these Nigerian politicians do such unlawful activities that one wonders why nothing is being done to curtail their misconduct and indiscipline. There is no party discipline in Nigeria. Virtually all politicians are just dishonest. I have no respect for these crooked politicians. Only a few Nigerian politicians are decent. The decent ones are almost frustrated by followerships that may even be worse than the leaders they follow.

Many of these Nigerian politicians are just political prostitutes. They engage in political sexual intercourse anyhow and anywhere so long as their selfish interests are buttered. No nation of good conscience should think twice before replacing many of those politicians and even most of those in the corridors of power. The performance of these crops of leadership has been too abysmal for continuity. But in Nigeria, those who performed abysmally very low always pride themselves as the best that Nigerians can get. Many Nigerians are not optimistic about anything better than what we have now. Nigerians have decided to look unto God for a miracle of good leadership.

Those who should be in prisons are not in prisons. In fact, they are the ones who may even send decent Nigerians to prison. People worship these crooked politicians. Many celebrate corruption and praise the promoters of crooks. Countries that promote, celebrate, worship, honour, and accord respect to only those with unexplained wealth but refuse to honour and celebrate those with impeccable honesty and integrity cannot be taken seriously in the eyes of right-thinking members of any reasonable society.

Nigeria seems to fall within the categories of these countries where, in most cases, some charlatans determine the fortunes of the best, while the best of the best are left to be wasted away. Sad, but that is the reality of our society. I am not a fan of those who celebrate the so-called philanthropists of our time, whose sources of wealth are of doubtful origin. Stealing the commonwealth of the people and pretending to be philanthropists is the worst heights of robbery and corruption. You can’t be a thief and pretend to be a philanthropist. No, you are just a thief.

Today, those who have no love of the people have started plotting how to continue to enslave Nigerians in the years ahead. Things are not getting better as it should be. Something must be done about political indiscipline and prostitution if our democracy must yield dividends for the good of the people. The brand of democracy today in Nigeria appears to fall within the family of political tyranny and terrorism, and only those who can endure such political terror and become slaves to a clean conscience hope to survive the primordial partisan tsunami.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Obioma Ezenwobodo

I just read – The Limits of Emergency Powers: A Rebuttal to Dr. Jaja’s Misinterpretation of Legislative Oversight, a rebuttal written by an eminent and renowned Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday Ubani SAN and for sake of justice and the rule of law, felt the need to exposit the constitutional and contextual basis on the limitation of the powers of the House of Representatives to oversee or summon the unconstitutional, but almighty Sole Administrator in Rivers State.

Mind you, Dr. Ubani SAN, is my ‘Nnukwu Oga’ whom I have enormous respect and reverence for.  The basis of Dr. Ubani’s argument is that emergency powers do not abrogate legislative oversight. That the National Assembly is not a spectator in emergency governance. That it remains a co-actor with constitutional authority to oversee all public functionaries, including those appointed under emergency conditions. Citing Section 305(6)(c) of the 1999 Constitution, Dr. Ubani explained that a state of emergency must be approved by the National Assembly and therefore subject to its scrutiny.

He further referred to Sections 88 and 89, which empower the legislature to investigate and summon any public official involved in the administration of public affairs. Inasmuch as I appreciate the angle taken by Dr. Jaja in marshaling his argument and the subsequent rejoinder by Dr. Ubani, I am compelled to base my views on the provisions of the Constitution and constitutional principles since the issues revolve around the Constitution stricto sensu.

Firstly, the state of emergency in Rivers State that had the Governor and other elected functionaries suspended is an attack and abuse on the soul of our Constitutional Democracy. It is a defective contraption that taints and will continue to taint any structure on which it is built, including the House of Representatives summons on the Sole Administrator.

In analyzing or interpreting provisions of the Constitution, the primary and most effective approach to adopt is originalism or textualism, which emphasizes interpreting the constitutional provisions by their original public meaning at the time they were adopted. This principle was noted by the Supreme Court in NPF & ORS v. POLICE SERVICE COMMISSION & ANOR (2023) LPELR-60782(SC) at pages 29-30, where the apex court held thus:

“The duty of the Court to interpret the relevant provisions of the Constitution and determine the intention of the legislature is a fundamental aspect of constitutional jurisprudence. It involves the application of legal principles and techniques to ascertain the meaning and purpose behind constitutional provisions, particularly those enacted by the legislature. The primary approach that has been adopted by the Courts in the interpretation of the Constitution is known as originalism or textualism, which emphasizes interpreting constitutional provisions according to their original public meaning at the time they were adopted. In most cases, the intention of the legislature can be discerned from the text itself, as well as the historical context surrounding its adoption. This approach seeks to limit judicial discretion and promote stability and predictability in the interpretation of the Constitution. Although there are other recognized rules of interpretation of statutes, the golden rule remains that every statute is to be expounded according to its manifest and express intention.”

Based on the above principle, the original and textual essence of section 305 (6) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as altered) seems not appreciated.  To appreciate its essence vis-à-vis the House of Representatives’ summons to the Sole Administrator in Rivers State, the crucial question is whether a proclamation of a state of emergency in Rivers State based on section 305 necessarily displaces state government institutions/functionaries. Certainly, the answer to this question is a capital ‘NO’. Section 305 is a conditional provision which begins with the phrase, ‘subject to the provisions of the Constitution’. In other words, the section is subject to other overriding provisions in the Constitution relevant to same.

Thus, everything relating to the declaration of a state of emergency must be done following the provisions of the Constitution. Nowhere is it provided in section 305, or any other provision, for the Governor and other elected functionaries of a State to be suspended from office by a declaration of a state of emergency, and in its place, have a Sole Administrator appointed to be scrutinised by the members of the National Assembly. Section 188 specifically provides for the removal of the Governor and Deputy Governor. Section 92 provides for the removal of the Speaker of the House of Assembly. Section 109 provides for the removal of a member of the House of Assembly, while section 110 provides for his recall. As argued in my article: https://thesourceng.com/house-of-reps-has-no-powers-to-oversee-rivers-administration/ and https://thenigerialawyer.com/nba-ex-chair-ezenwobodo-slams-manifest-illegality-in-rivers-calls-, that Nigeria being a federation with three (3) tiers of government, the only situation where the National Assembly can make laws for a State is provided by section 11 (4). The section provides that when the State’s House of Assembly is unable to perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in that State, the National Assembly may make such laws for the peace, order, and good government of the State.

It is significant to note that the Constitution expressly prohibits the National Assembly from removing the State Governor or his Deputy by the proviso to section 11(4) which clearly states that nothing in this section shall be construed as conferring on the National Assembly power to remove the Governor or the Deputy Governor of the State from office. It is without doubt that the power of the National Assembly to make laws for a State is only possible under a democratically elected Governor and Deputy Governor, not under a constitutionally unrecognised Sole Administrator. With the above explication, where is the power and moral authority of the House of Representative that breached sections 1(2) and 11 (4) of the Constitution by coalescing with the Executive Arm to forcefully take over elected government in Rivers State to now seek to participate in the governance of Rivers State by summoning the Sole Administrator.

Secondly, the reference to sections 88 and 89, which empower the legislature to investigate and summon any public official involved in the administration of public affairs, is another point in issue. These provisions are inapplicable to this scenario, and I tried to dilate the powers of the National Assembly to issue summons and investigate public officials in my article published on May 12, 2025, by the Nigerian Lawyers Blog, thus:  https://thenigerialawyer.com/shunned-summons-limitation-of-senate-power-to-summon-the-igp-any-public-functionary-and-any-person-legal-analysis/. In the referenced article, I wrote thus:

“A careful perusal of section 88(1) of the Constitution reveals the following:

1. The National Assembly can, by a published or gazetted resolution, cause an investigation into any matter or thing,
2. The investigation must be into a matter or thing it has the power to make laws on, and 
3. The investigation can be on the conduct of affairs of any person, authority, ministry, or government department with responsibility to administer laws or disburse moneys appropriated by the National Assembly.

By section 88(2) of the Constitution, investigation can only be exercised for the purpose of enabling the National Assembly to:

1. Make laws on a matter within its competence or correct any defects in existing laws,
2. Expose corruption, inefficiency, or waste in the execution of laws, and
3. In the disbursement of funds appropriated by it.

In other words, any investigation by the National Assembly that is not for these purposes is null and void. It therefore implies that the National Assembly power of summoning any person to appear before it in accordance with section 88(1)(c) of the Constitution can only be exercised when the purposes for the investigation accords with the qualifications specified in section 88(2)(a)(b) of the Constitution.”

An attempt to contextualise the powers of the House of Representatives to issue summons to the Sole Administrator in Rivers State and sections 88 and 89 would invariably bring us back to the crucial and burning question of the illegality of the removal of elected functionaries in Rivers State. A clear deduction from the provisions of sections 88 and 89 and happenings in Rivers State is that the removal of Governor Sim Fubara as Governor of Rivers State is not what the National Assembly has power on. The Sole Administrator appointed by the Executive Fiat and approved by the National Assembly has no constitutional responsibility to administer laws or disburse moneys, as all actions taken by him, including appointing Caretaker Chairmen for the Local Government Areas in the State, are flagrant disobedience to a subsisting Supreme Court decision and the Constitution.

The National Assembly cannot make laws or correct any defect in existing laws for Rivers State, as the unconstitutional Sole Administrator cannot sign or veto such laws. The National Assembly cannot equally expose corruption or inefficiency of a Sole Administrator, as such power is not donated by the Constitution. Further, the National Assembly cannot investigate the disbursement of funds by the Sole Administrator as they have no power to appropriate same to him…this justifies the swiftness in releasing the Rivers State backlog of federal allocation to the Sole Administrator, who has sole appropriation power.

Finally, it is crystal clear that the National Assembly rendered itself a mere spectator, rather than a co-actor, in the strange imposition of the State of Emergency in Rivers State. Except by a private arrangement or political expediency, the Sole Administrator in Rivers State is not under any obligation or compulsion to honour the summons issued by the House of Representatives. Likewise, the House cannot direct the Inspector General of Police to effect his arrest upon his refusal to honour the summons. The Sole Administrator is what he is called, the SOLE ADMINISTRATOR. The only opportunity for the National Assembly to redeem itself and restore is by restoring democracy in Rivers State is by exercising its powers under section 305 (5) (d) to revoke the unjust, illegal, and unconstitutional Proclamation of State of Emergency in Rivers State.

Obioma Ezenwobodo LL.M

Managing Partner, Resolution Attorneys

Executive Director, Policy & Legislative Advocacy Network (PLAN)

Pioneer Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Garki Branch, Abuja (2022/24)

[email protected]

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

By Dr Vincent Adedara (Solicitor in Nigeria, England and Wales)

Mr Nyesom Wike is now the Adolf Hitler in Nigeria. His ungrateful attitude to God’s kindness to him makes him to always demand a pound of flesh from everyone standing on his way. The people that helped Mr Nyesom Wike didn’t demand that he should donate his liver and kidney. Today, he is demanding livers and kidneys from those he helped like Governor Fubara with overbearing attitude and claiming to be God over them, forgetting that Herod received an instant answer for similar arrogance in the bible. He has the antecedent of turning against his helpers.

Let Mr Wike be reminded that he didn’t fall from heaven. He was recommended by Senator Mbata he fell out with, to Dr Peter Odili for Local Govt Chairman of Obio Akpor, and Justice Mary Odili took him as a son and made sure he became the chairman. That’s the same woman he’s abusing today.

Mr Amaechi made him his Chief of Staff, which was well deserved considering the role Mr Wike played in helping the former reclaim his mandate at the courts. Mr Amaechi recommended him as minister to represent Rivers State at the federal level when he was becoming too overbearing in the state. He was so tough and torn in the flesh of the sitting Governor that he could stop Amaechi’s convoy so as to sign any document he wanted. He is still tough and rough till now, he is not a gentleman.

He didn’t want to leave Rivers State for the FCT to be a minister because he was aspiring to be a governor after Mr Amaechi. Due to his governorship ambition, he was unhappy with that recommendation. He capitalised on the issues between Mr Amaechi and President Jonathan at the time to further his ambition and warm his way into President Jonathan’s heart. At every stage of his career, he was helped by somebody, and he betrayed all of them with no exception. This same man is talking about loyalty and gratitude that he deserves from people. Can you avoid karma? The law of sowing and reaping is sacrosanct, and Mr Wike is reaping his sowing. Ask those who were in Port Harcourt around 2003 or 2004 when he was the local government chairman. They’ll tell you that Mr Wike’s wickedness is inbuilt. It is not impossible that he may turn against President Tinubu before 2027.

ATTACK ON FEMI FALANA SAN

Recently, Mr Wike insulted lawyers in Nigeria, he also called Falana SAN, a television lawyer and also compares himself with Femi Falana SAN, doing that is like comparing heaven with earth, Femi Falana SAN is a gentleman who has made a great name for himself globally, he is not suffering from schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder. He is not a looter of treasury, he is a democrat and not an autocrat. He talks like a sane individual at every gathering.

Can we say a few out of the numerous things he had done for humanity through his profession, he built several edifices in Lagos for victims and orphans.

Domestic and regional courts have taken judicial notice of Femi Falana’s human rights work and contribution to human rights jurisprudence:

In Socio-Economic and Accountability Rights Project v Nigeria the Federal High Court (Unreported Suit No FHHC/CS/ABJ/CS/640/ 2010  (Kolawole J) said:

“When I read the written address, it is in my view, a classical thesis on international law and conventions on human rights… It confirmed Mr. Falana, SAN as a redoubtable and well grounded human rights activist of deep intellectual learning in this area of the law”.

In All Nigeria Peoples Party v. Inspector-General Party (2008) 12 WRN 65, Adekeye JCA (as she then was) held:

“I am intrigued by the brilliant and elucidating submission of the learned counsel and especially that of the learned counsel for the respondents, Mr. Femi Falana, on the core aspect of this appeal which by all means is the interpretation of sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution touching on the fundamental rights of the citizens of this country to freedom of expression and right to peaceful assembly and association and the application and the effect of the Public Order Act Cap 382 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 on same. This court appreciates the level of research put into the preparation of his brief particularly the opinion of courts on contemporary issues from other parts of the world”

In Nigeria Labour Congress v. Federal Government of Nigeria (Unreported) Suit No S.C 33/2008 of February 2, 2008. the Supreme Court (Per Bade JSC) noted:

“The name ˜FEMI FALANA is one that judicial notice may be taken, having attained a positive notoriety, particularly in human rights advocacies in this country and beyond.”

In Tokunbo Oyemade v Ecowas Executive Secretary & 2 Ors- JUD/ECW/CCJ/04/05 the Ecowas Court had this to say:

“Mr. Falana, the President of West African Bar Association, appearing as amicus curiae, addressed the Court on some dicey issues relating to the criteria of granting an interlocutory application and the principle of master/ servant relationship. He relied on the Ghanaian the Supreme Court case of New Patriotic Party v. Inspector-General of Police 2000 2 HRLRA P 1 at 63 and submitted that ECOWAS and its organs owe a duty to ensure that the rights of its citizens are not violated, and that any case alleging violation of rights is very serious issue. The Court appreciates his contributions.

Among the cases handled in the Supreme Court, two stand out:

1. Honourable Justice Kalu Anyah v. Dr. Festus Iyayi (1993) 7 NWLR (PT 305) 290 SC

It was held by the Supreme Court held that the Head of State, as the Visitor to a University, was not competent to dismiss a lecturer.

Based on this judgment, the authorities of the University of Benin decided to recall Professor Festus Iyayi (former ASUU president), Professor Itse Sagay and other lecturers who were sacked by the University and military president Babangida.

Since the judgment was handed down, the President, as the Visitor to all Federal Universities, has always forwarded the reports of visitation panels to the Governing Councils of Federal Universities.

2.Osun State Independent Electoral Commission v. Action Congress & Ors. (2010) 19 NWLR (PT 1226) 273 SC

It was held by the Supreme Court that a state’s independent electoral commission cannot conduct an election without giving notice to registered political parties in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act.

This judgment has always been complied with by state independent electoral commissions. Otherwise, local government elections are liable to be declared illegal.

Ogor & Others v. Kolawole (1983) 1 NCR 342; (1985) 6 NCLR 53
The High Court of Oyo State declared the detention of the applicants on a holding charge illegal and unconstitutional. This was the first case in which a holding charge was pronounced illegal and unconstitutional.

On account of this case, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act provides that a criminal suspect cannot be detained beyond the constitutional limit without a remand order made by a Magistrate.

Bamidele Opeyemi & Ors. v. Prof. Grace Alele-Williams (1989) NPILR 302
The High Court of Edo state declared the suspension of the applicants as undergraduates of the University of Benin illegal and unconstitutional as they were denied right to fair hearing guaranteed by section 33 of the 1979 Constitution and article 7 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act (Cap A9) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

This was the first case in which a Nigerian court held that the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights was applicable and enforceable in Nigeria.

In Femi Falana v. Attorney-General of the Federation (No 1) (Unreported) Suit No: FHC/L/ 1122/12, the Federal High Court directed the federal government to establish the Nigerian Education Bank to give loans to indigent undergraduates in tertiary institutions.

The Federal Government under the Tinubu administration has since established a loan scheme for indigent undergraduates in all public universities in Nigeria

In Inspector-General of Police v. All Nigeria Peoples Party (2008) 12 WRN 65, the Federal High Court annulled police permit for public meetings, rallies and demonstrations. Accordingly, certain provisions of the Public Order Act were struck down for being inconsistent with sections 39 & 40 of the Constitution.

In affirming the judgment, the Court of Appeal held that the fundamental rights of Nigerian citizens to freedom of assembly and expression include the right to demonstrate for and against the government. Consequently, section 83(4) of the Police Establishment Act 2020 states that the police shall provide adequate security for participants in public meetings, rallies, and processions.

These were the two Supreme Court cases he handled before becoming a SAN

He fought for Late Bamidele Aturu, Ebunolu Adegboruwa SAN, my goodself and many others when we were Student Union Leaders at Obafemi Awolowo University. He fought for the current Majority leader of the Senate Micheal Opeyemi Bamidele (MOB), when he was expelled by the University of Benin. What long-standing achievements, what can we refer to about Mr Wike than fighting his political protégé on a disagreement over sharing formula?

HOW THE COURTS STOPPED ILLEGAL SUSPENSION OF LEGISLATORS IN NIGERIA DUE TO HIS EFFORTS

In 2010, his law firm handled the case of Hon Dino Melaye and 10 other legislators who were suspended for accusing the Dimeji Bankole-led House of Representatives of wallowing in corruption. The Federal High Court declared the suspension of the legislators illegal and unconstitutional and ordered the payment of their withheld salaries and allowances.

In 2012, his law firm also handled the case of Honourable Rifkatu Danna, the only female member of the 31-member Bauchi State House of Assembly. Danna was suspended in June 2012 for allegedly making uncomplimentary remarks when she challenged the lawmakers’ decision to approve the relocation of the headquarters of Tafawa Balewa Local Government Area of Bauchi State. But the Bauchi State High Court declared her suspension illegal and ordered the Bauchi State House of Assembly to reinstate her and pay her withheld salaries and allowances.

In 2017, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed against the judgment of the Bauchi State High Court in respect of the illegal suspension of Honourable Rifkatu Danna. The Court upheld his submission to the effect that the suspension of the legislator constituted a breach of the right of the Bogoro Constituency to be represented by her in the state house of assembly. The Court equally held that the decision of the House to withhold the salaries and allowances of the legislator was illegal, as she was not an employee but an elected member of the Bauchi State House of Assembly.

In 2018, his law firm equally handled the case of Honourable Abdulmumin Jibrin, a member of the House of Representatives who was suspended for 180 days for accusing the Yakubu Dogara-led House of padding the 2016 national budget. The Federal High Court nullified the suspension and ordered the payment of the withheld salaries and allowances of the legislator.

Based on the case of the Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly v Honourable Rifkatu Danna (2017) 49 WRN 82, which is the locus classicus on the subject matter, the 2017 suspension of Senator Ali Ndume by the Bukola Saraki-led Senate was annulled by the Federal High Court. The case was filed on behalf of the Senator by his lawyer, Marcel Oru Esq.

In the same vein, the 2020 suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege was declared illegal and unconstitutional by the Federal High Court. The case was filed on behalf of the Senator by Edward Omaga Esq.

Sometime in 2020, the Jigawa State House of Assembly suspended a lawmaker, Hon. Sani Iyaku, over alleged criticism of the state governor, Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Badaru, who was on a visit to Hadejia town for a wedding ceremony. Honourable Iyaku challenged his suspension in the Jigawa State High Court. The trial Judge, Justice Ahmed, ruled that the action of the Assembly did not comply with Order 15 rule 74 (2)(c) and (3) a, b of the state House of Assembly standing orders 2017 and therefore declared the suspension illegal, inappropriate, null and void. The court also directed that the defendant be paid his three months’ allowances withheld to the tune of N3 million.

On November 18, 2020, the Court of Appeal, sitting in Akure, Ondo State, dismissed the motion for stay of execution filed by the state House of Assembly against the judgment of the High Court reinstating the three suspended members of the state assembly. The Presiding Judge, Justice Folayemi Omoleye, queried the appellants for bringing a frivolous appeal before the court, directing that the lawmakers should be reinstated immediately to resume their legislative duties.

On August 13, 2024, the same court reinstated Hon. Iroju Ogundeji as the Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly. In a unanimous ruling, Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye, Frederick Oziakpono-Oho, and Yusuf Alhaji Bashir affirmed the decision made by Justice Akintan Osadebey, which reinstated the two-term legislator representing the Odigbo state constituency.

In the past five years, the High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, and the National Industrial Court nullified the illegal suspension of members of the Houses of Assembly of Kogi and Edo State, respectively.

In March 2024, the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate suspended Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP; Bauchi) for three months for alleging that Nigeria’s 2024 budget was padded. The Senator instructed his law firm to challenge the suspension in the Federal High Court. In the process,he wrote to the leadership of the Senate to review the suspension, the Senate recalled Senator Ningi and paid his withheld salaries and allowances.

In view of the definitive pronouncements of the several High Court and the Court of Appeal on the illegality of the suspension of elected members of legislative houses in Nigeria, the suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is the height of legislative recklessness. The illegal suspension should be lifted without any further delay. Since the Federal High Court had restrained the Senate Ethics Committee from hearing the complaint against the embattled Senator pending the determination of the motion on notice the Senate ought to have stayed action in accordance with the rule of law.

The official impunity of suspending legislators at the whims and caprices of leaders of the federal and state legislative houses must not be allowed to continue in Nigeria, thanks to proactive action of Femi Falana SAN.

Mr Nyesom Wike worked as a lawyer under Emmanuel Ukala SAN, one of the richest lawyers in Port Harcourt, but did he win any landmark cases like Femi Falana SAN? Nobody could have known Mr Wike if not for the rough and backstabbing politics he played in Rivers State. Mr Wike was made by politics and tax payers money but Femi Falana SAN was made by hard work, self development and providence, this man must be respected for the legitimate means of livelihood devoid of cheap money available to politicians who have livers to rig elections successfully in Nigeria and have access to the treasury to become emergency billionaires and able to donate any amount from the treasury to garner favours, title and positions and stalk more money for future rigging of elections.

Mr Wike donated 500 million Naira to the Body of Benchers before he was made a life bencher, several thousands of lawyers are better than Mr Wike who had never won a single case at the trial court, court of appeal and the Supreme court and l still wonder the reason why he was made a life bencher, his donations to the body of benchers should be returned immediately and let him resign his position as a life bencher, we need people to occupy the exalted position on merit, Mr Wike is not a gentleman. A man who has not won a case should not be considered a life Bencher. He can be a life member of his political party and not the Body of Benchers.

It is an insult on the collective body of lawyers in Nigeria that Mr Wike is a life bencher. Money in the bank and frequent donations should not be criteria for merit. This is what is giving him the guts to insult the highly respected NBA with impunity and casting aspersions on those who had carved niches for themselves in the profession, like Prof Odinkalu and Femi Falana, SAN because he has taxpayers’ money in his pocket.

LERE OLAYINKA: A HIDDEN BETRAYAL IN MR WIKE’S CAMP.

He has a betrayal called Lere Olayinka as SSA on public communication, Lere Olayinka was deserved by Mr Wike, Mr Olayinka was appointed by Fayose as SA public communication on 14th April 2014 but on 18th of July 2016 through press release,he accused Mr Fayose as a master rigger of election, that he deliberately exposed his 1.4 billions Naira poultry scam, he said he killed scores of people in Ekiti including Tunde Omojola, an in-law to Hon. Labaika Suleiman, the National Conscience Party (NCP) candidate in the election. He said his murder was allegedly supervised by Fayose.He said Mr Fayose must visit the families of Tunde Omojola, Dr. Ayo Daramola, nine students of the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti killed during a mere protest, the likes of Aseweje, Ben Ogundana, Dapo Osunniyi, Kamoru Folorunso, Ojo Sunday and several others that were visited with terror during the 2004 local council polls in Ilawe, Ogotun and Igbara-Odo to seek amnesty.

There was Judas to Jesus, Absalom and Ahitophel to David and there is Lere Olayinka to Mr Fayose and now to Mr Wike, he will soon betray him at every slight tamper with his comfort, Mr Olayinka did it to Mr Fayose and for Mr Fayose to have recommended Olayinka to Mr Wike, Mr Fayose must have a big heart but Leopard Lere can never change his colour, he has history of betraying his benefactor. He will soon betray Mr Wike too or maybe that is who Mr Wike deserves by fate.

‘Ekiti Strength’ on 26th April 2020 as powered by the Ekiti Integrity group reported on Lere Olayinka , Olayinka is from Okemesi Ekiti, nobody can know him better than the people from Ekiti state, in the publication of Ekiti Strength online publisher had this to say about Lere Olayinka in their platform and it is still there, l will copy little out of the publication to know that Lere Olayinka should not be taking serious, he might not be known to Mr Wike but he is well known to Ekiti people.

“UNMASKING LERE OLAYINKA AND HIS SERIAL CRIMES

Some of the crimes committed by Lere Olayinka include theft, burglary,
libel, blackmail, examination misconduct, multiple and mind-boggling fraud, embezzlement of public funds, peddling falsehood, churning out hate speeches and sex scandals.

Lere Olayinka used to be a cobbler in Lagos where he stole his brother-in-law’s money and also confessed to sitting for an examination for his wife at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.

Lere Olayinka’s claim to being a journalist is bogus and non-existent as he has no certificate or academic qualification to back such claim. He is an impersonator, period.

He was a dropout at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos where he failed to complete a diploma course and any certificate he is parading to back such a claim is fake, as such can only be procured from Oluwole, a Lagos Island neighbourbood notorious for producing fake documents.

Lere Olayinka attempted to remedy his academic deficiency at the Ado Ekiti Campus of the International Institute of Journalism but he wanted to use his former position in government to railroad the authorities to issue him a certificate without attending classes,
writing tests and examination a request that was rightly turned down as such certificates are not sold in the open market!

Lere Olayinka fled from Lagos only to land in Akure, the capital of Ondo State, where he committed some crimes while working with Mr. Tunde Alade, the publisher of the now rested CLASS Newspaper and a lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Morakinyo Ogele including using his position to blackmail innocent people to extort money from them.

During this period, Lere Olayinka stole a printing plate that the production crew wanted to use to produce copies of CLASS Newspaper in a bid to corner all the proceeds from that production to the chagrin of Alade and Ogele.

It is also on record that Lere Olayinka, during his Akure misadventure, broke into the law chambers of Ogele located at Oyemekun Road, Akure and stole N250,000, a fact that is in the public domain and verifiable by anyone who wishes to investigate same.

An impersonation case hanging on Lere Olayinka’s neck was his villainous bravado of posing as an elected lawmaker in the hallowed chamber of Ekiti State House of Assembly in November 2014 during the screening and ratification of nominees for the positions of commissioners and special advisers in the early days of the second tenure of Ayo Fayose.

The Fourth Assembly at the time Fayose came to power in October 2014 had 19 APC lawmakers while PDP had 7 lawmakers in a 26-member House, which needed a quorum of 9 members to hold any valid sitting. The 19 APC members had been run out of town after their 6 PDP counterparts loyal to Fayose illegally impeached Dr. Adewale Omirin as Speaker and replaced him with Mr. Dele Olugbemi on November 20, 2014.

To conduct a sitting to screen and ratify Fayose’s nominees, at least nine members would be needed to form a quorum but on the day of plenary, Lere Olayinka and three other mystery individuals joined the six PDP lawmakers to perform the constitutional act.

Assembly staff, party loyalists, civil servants, journalists and other members of the public in the gallery were stunned when Lere Olayinka and three others who were not elected to sit in the hallowed chambers joined the PDP lawmakers to screen and ratify nominees. It is now up to security agencies to reopen the case file and dig deep.

A case of criminal forgery and doctoring of a witness statement on oath is also hanging ominously on the neck of this vile fellow named Lere Olayinka and this can be investigated by the appropriate security agencies.

In the murder case of the former state Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Chief Omolafe Aderiye, Lere Olayinka criminally tampered with a witness statement on oath of Mr. Gbolahan Okeowo.

Okeowo, who served as the Personal Assistant to the late Aderiye while giving evidence before an Ekiti State High Court presided over by Justice Lekan Ogunmoye, revealed that Lere Olayinka tore his witness statement on oath and wrote another one in the chambers of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice at the State Secretariat, Ado Ekiti.

Okeowo testified in open court that Lere Olayinka committed the crime because he felt the witness statement on oath did not incriminate and implicate the accused persons. The evidence is available at Ekiti State High Court for interested members of the public for confirmation.

In the earlier statement on oath, the witness deposed to which was torn by Lere Olayinka, Okeowo’s averments exonerated the seven transport workers implicated by the Fayose regime of complicity in the Aderiye murder.

Lere Olayinka personally changed Okeowo’s statement on oath and wrote another one to implicate the accused persons of having hands in the murder of Omolafe Aderiye. What can be criminal more than that?

The accused persons are Adebayo Aderiye alias Ojugo, Adeniyi Adedipe alias Apase, Sola Durodola, Ajayi Kayode, Sola Adenijo alias Solar, Oso Farotimi alias Oso Polo and Rotimi Olanbiwonnu alias Mentillo.

Okeowo, in his testimony, told the court that he was pricked by his conscience and had to depose to another affidavit at the Federal High Court, Akure to contain the original averment in the first statement on oath torn by Olayinka.

The court had on January 28, 2018, discharged and acquitted all the seven persons who were found innocent of the murder charge for which they stood trial for almost four years while being incarcerated in the Federal Prisons, Ado Ekiti.

If former PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, could be prosecuted for destroying the statement he wrote in EFCC custody, Lere Olayinka should not be allowed by security agencies and shouldn’t not allow Lere to get away with his own crime..

Also awaiting investigation by security agencies is Lere Olayinka’s complicity in allowing the use of the Broadcasting Service of Ekiti State which he supervised for three years and nine months for illegal and criminal declaration of the 2018 governorship result by his boss, Ayodele Fayose when collation was yet to be concluded by INEC.

The treasonable action led to the closure of the station by the National Broadcasting Commission for violation of broadcast code. The usurpation of INEC’s duty by Olayinka in cahoots with his boss who awarded victory to their party heightened tension in the state.

It is on record that Lere Olayinka used his position in BSES to commit several crimes carrying fake news, broadcasting hate speeches,twisting reporters’ stories, embezzlement of millions of Naira, collecting huge cash for seminars not attended, awarding contracts which were not executed, committing diesel fraud, collecting advertisement money from various ministries which were not remitted to the accounts of BSES.

Security agencies must launch a probe into how Lere Olayinka fraudulently and criminally converted a brand new 18-seater bus given to BSES under a barter arrangement with Chief Akintunde Ayeni popularly known as YEMKEM. The deal was sealed between YEMKEM International and BSES for the corporation to be promoting the company with news, special reports, advertisements and documentaries in a relationship that was symbiotic.

Before one knew what was happening, Olayinka hijacked the bus and took it to his Lagos home for his wife’s use only to replace a brand new bus with a problematic second-hand one nobody knew where he brought it from and which had not served the corporation well.

Lere Olayinka during this period was also involved in messy sex scandals including sleeping with corpers and students on industrial attachment (SIWES) to BSES and even contract staff.

A particular case for reference was that of a lady, the late Miss Funbi Oba, who was on SIWES to BSES and served in News and Current Affairs Department. Lere Olayinka should be asked questions on what was responsible for the death of the Ikere-born girl.

Lere Olayinka, using his connection with the government in power then, snatched the lady from her former boyfriend, whom he threatened to hands off the girl for him to have her to himself. Before coming to BSES on SIWES, the late Funmi Oba worked part-time as
a flower bearer/dancer for an undertaker/funeral home, after which Lere Olayinka browbeat her into an unholy relationship.

Lere Olayinka, in a bid to keep the girl to himself, got an accommodation for her in Adebayo area of Ado Ekiti where he used to engage in endless sex romps with her. In the process of the amorous relationship, the girl got pregnant several times, but Lere Olayinka procured abortions for her to prevent the secret from leaking to his wife, who is a gospel musician.

It was a period that Lere Olayinka, who is supposedly a married man, impregnated many of those innocent girls and even procured abortions for them” This publication is known to Lere Olayinka and he has not come openly to deny it and the same man with bad records everywhere has the audacity to insult Femi Falana SAN to ask how many cases he won before he became SAN. Lere Olayinka, an AGIP man, has no record of excellence and achievements other than destroying the good image of people through the media.

Femi Falana, SAN is not in the class of Mr Wike and Lere Olayinka, a man in white garment is only careful of men carrying red oils, integrity built for years can never be rubbished by any money bags full of tax payers sweat and someone like Lere who can open his mouth to say anything so far money is involved should be louder in his insults because he has a lot of money on ground from his master for his vituperative diarrhoea mouth to run like tap water but Mr Wike should beware of this Judas in his camp.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

You can’t kill a cow.

You can’t caution the herders.

The farmers, tired of crying and bellyaching, are fighting back.

Herders are killing farmers.

Farmers are killing herders.

Governors are paying condolence visits, addressing press conferences. Those who are not making state-wide broadcasts are ‘raising the alarm’ or organising security summits.

Then ‘they’ are asking for Daddy. All the where-is-our -daddy noise would have been amusing if it wasn’t so predictable and annoying. Yes, it is good for Daddy to be home so we have someone to look up to. But this is a national issue and we are not kids.

Maybe President Bola Tinubu should not have gone to France – or England. Maybe then, the blood sucking demons of Plateau State would have settled for the blood of goats and chickens. Maybe if President Tinubu had returned immediately we started looking for him, the Inspector-General of Police would have caught the demons and caged them. Maybe the presence of Tinubu at the Villa would have encouraged and inspired the Chief of Army Staff to round up the demons of the blood suckers in Benue state.

Pray, apart from the regular we-commiserate-with-the- people of Plateau communities and the flat and familiar threats of the-culprits-will-be-brought-to-book,. what else follows the visit of a Governor or President to scenes of communal clashes in Nigeria?

Unfortunately, we are a people who ignore leprosy and scratch a goddamn itch. For everything that goes wrong, there’s always someone to blame. We just join forces and voices to castigate that one person while ignoring the real reasons for our pain or how we got to the pitch of the blame game. I think it’s some kind of national therapy for us. We find it easier to find one person to blame than to summon courage to find and fix our problem. What is even worse is that we act as if we talk constantly about any problem,  the cacophony will blow them away. Or isn’t that the reason Benue State was organising a security summit in one breath and in another admitting (or alerting) that it could not guarantee the safety of VIPs. Only in Nigeria would you find people talking about their pain instead of taking ‘panadol’.

A few days ago, I travelled the stretch between Epe Resort and Molajoye in Lagos State. On both sides of the well-paved road are thick, very green endless hectares of palm trees. They must have been there for generations. Guess what are we doing with all that natural wealth currently? No, we are not tapping palm wine or producing palm oil or even making brooms and baskets from all that ready goodness. No, that is too much hard work, I guess. We are parcelling them out to estate developers. Yes, we are felling thousands of palm trees to make room for three bedroom flats and luxury duplexes. These so-called ‘estate developers’ after  building fancy gates and fences have gone home. Most of the estates and their fancy names have remained just fancy gates and white fences in the last six years that I have monitored them.

My point? It is only in this country that you destroy natural wealth to build what you are not  sure of. It is only in Nigeria that you will find grown, very educated and supposed civilised men looking for a President instead of facing the real reason why our land is flowing with the blood of children and dismembered parts of the aged.

My second sad point: The killings in Plateau, Benue will continue for many years to come. Maybe for another 100 years. Shocked? Shocking. But I have a few thoughts how we got to this land of death.

There is a region where education, vocational or Western is played down. There is a land where nomadic cattle rearing is a culture and proof of humanity, superiority or even manhood. Does that region still exist in 2025, the year of our Lord? Has that region improved on its rating on out-of-school children board? No. Has that region agreed that there can be ranches for cattle where thousands of cows can graze and the ranchers can make real good money, including hard currency from exports? No. Does that region have enough land and grass to feed its cattle? No. The cattle keep moving, foraging, grazing. They keep walking, straying into farmlands of honest, hardworking farmers, destroying full harvest, full-year of sweat and back breaking work. The farmers cry each time they wake up to heart- wrenching devastation. Yet the cows who wreak them are sacred and their herders are sacred cows too.

For years now, each time a cow was killed, farmers were beheaded or disemboweled . Soon, farmers started fighting back, killing herders and their cows. Today, corpses are piling up and everywhere is dripping blood and gore.

Over the years, the government, federal and state, have failed to do what is needed. The educated governors have failed to educate the masses. They lack the political will to stare down the old uneducated clerics who profit from the almajiri system. The so-called political leaders pray five times a day but lack the fear of God to see the uneducated boys and young herders as anything more than voters, disposable tissues and tools to further their selfish interests. Their children speak with Canadian and British accents. They tell the handsome young herders that treking hundreds of miles in the forest is their lives, their heritage.

Neither the federal or state governments have built one single ranch since they started talking about it

For as long as we pretend that millions of uneducated herders and their living ancestors who tell them that walking in the forest is life, are not dangerous, blood will continue to flow. For as long as we have a people, millions of them, who believe in land boundaries, ancestral lands and fighting over parcels of land, for that long will we continue to have mass burials.

 Meaningless meetings and five-minute broadcasts have not and will never solve this problem. We must be intentional about tackling this from its root. The federal government must double down and industrialise agriculture. It must build ranches. It must consciously invest everything in lifting the north. Children of the North must go to school. Nigerian’s North must produce more engineers, doctors and nurses. All the governors and political elders and leaders from other regions must come together, work with the truly God-fearing leaders of the north to rescue the north from its captors, the ones who profit from the bloodshed.

This regular festival of human sacrifice cannot stop where about 5000 smooth-talking politicians discuss where power must be. Just a few people in the North enjoy a ‘northern presidency’. Only the children of those few school in Switzerland and live in New York. The voters and their children are socialised to mass produce children after mass weddings. They have been told that it is their destiny to serve and slave.

Just imagine the number of years a Northerner had led this country at different points and ask yourself why the North still has this high figures of polio victims and out-of-school children. Why are all the Okada riders at your bus stop from the North? Why are all the nice buildings, resorts and Nigeria’s remaining industries outside the North? Why is the north so poor while its leaders are rich?

A plot of land in Banana Island in Lagos is N1 billion. You do not see property owners there stabbing one another. Why? They are educated. Like some of my kinsmen in Osun whose land go for just 500k per plot, the herdsmen and farmers are killing one another over land that money is not running after.

Until and unless the leaders of the cattle business and the proponents of indigenes and settlers nonsense are educated on how they can make real money the modern way, the killings won’t stop.

When Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan travelled during crises, the opposition and those ‘instructed’ to do so stridently condemned their trips. We blamed a lot of our problems on Yar’Adua’s sick leave. Why would Buhari travelled so much, so often? As if our problems were or are afraid of the President’s presence. Laughable.

Do you see the Federal Government funding ranches? Do you see the northern leaders de-emphasizing age-old ways and hauling the almajiris to school or teaching them coding? Do you see young Northerners in the cattle business quitting nomadic life? Do you see the farmlands of Benue and Plateau safe from cow and devastation they leave behind? Do you see farmers going to bed with their two eyes closed and returning home safely after every farm day?

Do you?

I don’t.

Why then do you think the killings will stop?

• Watch video of how El Salvador fought terrorism and other crimes

By Benedict Onwugbenu

On March 2025, 16 lives were violently taken in Uromi, Edo State. The nation responded in unison—airwaves flooded with grief, condemnation poured in from civil society, and politicians hastily released statements. Social media trended with outrage. And rightly so.

But while the country mourned Uromi, another tragedy unfolded—more than 120 people have been massacred in Plateau State in the past months, entire villages destroyed, and families displaced. Yet this horror barely stirred national conscience. No state visit. No presidential address. No national flags at half-mast.

This stark disparity in national response raises a disturbing question: Why does Nigeria grieve selectively? What makes one life more valuable than another in the eyes of the nation? This silence is not just shameful—it is dangerous.

The killings in Plateau State are not isolated. They are part of a broader crisis engulfing Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Benue State, too, is under siege. Day after day, villages are invaded, farmlands occupied, and civilians driven from their ancestral lands. The scale is horrifying—a slow-motion war unfolding in plain sight.

And yet, the silence of the government and the glacial response of the military is dangerously disturbing. In most cases, security forces arrive only after the carnage is complete—if they come at all. Local communities have repeatedly cried out for help, written petitions, and buried their dead with no justice in sight.

Entire villages in Benue are being taken over. People are being displaced by the thousands. Women, children, and the elderly are left with nothing. Schools have closed. Markets are deserted. And yet, the federal government offers no comprehensive security plan, no state of emergency, no effective intervention.

This failure to act raises legitimate fears: Is the state complicit by omission—or worse, by design?

When a pattern of violence targets specific ethnic or religious communities, when their lands are forcibly taken, and when government institutions do nothing to protect them, it fits the textbook definition of ethnic cleansing.

The world must not turn a blind eye. What is happening in Plateau, Benue, and Southern Kaduna is not a random farmer-herder conflict. It is a systematic assault on vulnerable communities—driven by ideology, territorial conquest, and religious intolerance.

The failure to name the violence for what it is emboldens the perpetrators. Instead of arresting and prosecuting them, the government prefers to call these attacks “communal clashes”—a term that sanitizes terror and equalizes victims with aggressors.
The lack of justice sends a dangerous message: some lives are disposable, and some territories are conquerable.

Nigeria is sitting on a powder keg. The impunity fueling these attacks, the absence of justice, and the disregard for human life are pushing the country to the edge. If unaddressed, these unchecked atrocities may ignite a full-blown civil conflict.

Local communities are increasingly resorting to self-defense and vigilante justice, filling the vacuum left by the state. This descent into anarchy is not hypothetical—it is already in motion.

The federal government must act swiftly and decisively to prevent the nation from slipping into chaos. This includes:

• Declaring a national emergency in Plateau and Benue States.
• Deploying a specialized military force with real-time intelligence capacity.
• Setting up a federal tribunal to investigate and prosecute mass killings.
• International observers and human rights groups should be invited to monitor the situation transparently.
  Most importantly, the national conscience must awaken. Civil society, religious leaders, youth groups, and the media must reject selective outrage and demand accountability across board.
  Nigeria cannot claim unity while part of it is bleeding in silence. If we continue to look away, we may wake up one day to a country at war with itself—a war that could have been prevented.

This is a call to truth. A call to justice. A call to peace. Before it’s too late.

Benedict ONWUGBENU is a Catholic Priest and the Executive Director, Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC), Benin.

The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.

Below is a video of how the President of El Salvador fought terrorism and other crimes in El Salvador.