Falana incurs wrath for comments on 2016 padded budget

 

– Femi Falana had reportedly said that the DSS does not have the moral and legal rights to probe the alleged budget padding at the House of Representatives

– Falana had also allegedly questioned the DSS’ recent arrest and detention of the principal officers and administrative staff of the Zamfara state House of Assembly

– The Ekiti state House of Assembly carpeted the lawyer describing him as hypocritical in his utterances

The Ekiti state House of Assembly has slammed human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, for saying the Department of State Services (DSS) lacked both the moral and legal rights to carry out the probe of alleged involvement of members of the House of Representatives in budget padding.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara and Abdulmumin Jibrin

The House described Falana’s reported comment as another display of his selfishness and political hypocrisy, asking why he (Falana) supported the DSS invasion of the Ekiti state House of Assembly and arrest of a member of the House, Afolabi Akanni.

Falana had reportedly stated that there was no legal backing for the DSS to investigate budget padding, which he described as “a straight forward case of economic crime.”

The senior lawyer was also quoted as implying that the agency, by virtue of national security agencies act, was strictly limited to the “preservation and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.”

READ ALSO: Plot to impeach Speaker Yakubu Dogara thickens

Falana had also allegedly questioned the DSS’ recent arrest and detention of the principal officers and administrative staff of the Zamfara state House of Assembly for attempting to commence an impeachment proceeding against Governor Mohammed Yari on grounds of alleged corrupt practices.

Chairman of the Ekiti state House of Assembly committee on information, Hon Gboyega Aribisogan, while reacting to Falana’s position in a statement issued on Monday, August 1, 2016, said: “Falana should be ashamed that he gave tacit support to the DSS when the agency engaged in illegalities in Ekiti, his home state and now elects to complain when the same DSS extended its illegalities to the House of Representatives and Zamfara state House of Assembly.

“The question that Mr Femi Falana (SAN) needs to answer is whether he just realised that the duty of the DSS according to the national security agencies act, is strictly limited to the preservation and detection within Nigeria of any crime against the internal security of Nigeria.

“Also, Falana needs to tell Nigerians whether the DSS invasion of the Ekiti state House of Assembly that he supported was in preservation of internal security of Nigeria,” Aribisogan said.

Describing Falana’s stance on political issues in Nigeria as hypocritical, the House said it was “sad that the self-professed human rights lawyer always find his voice only when his political allies in his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) were involved.

READ ALSO: Group calls for EFCC to investigate Dogara

“Throughout the four years of the APC government of Dr Kayode Fayemi, Falana did not utter a word to condemn the murder of 10 indigenes of the State that were killed by agents of the government.

“It is on record that the APC Chairman in Ekiti state, Jide Awe who is standing trial over the murder of Ayo Jeje and Mrs Juliana Adewumi in Erijiyan Ekiti has remained a fugitive and Falana has been relating with him (Awe) despite that a warrant of arrest was issued against him?

“The question is, is Falana’s human rights activism only about defending the interests of his political allies in his party, the APC?

“Could Falana have spoken against the DSS arrest of and detention of the principal officers and administrative staff of the Zamfara State House of Assembly if Zamfara was a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) controlled State like Ekiti?

“That was the same way he (Falana) said in an interview in Punch newspaper on July 15, 2014 that Ekiti governorship election was not rigged and that Fayose won fair and square, only to come back close 18 months after to say that the election was fraudulent.

READ ALSO: I will continue to speak out until Dogara is removed – Jibrin

“It is our view that a credible rights activist will not blow hot and cold at the same time as being done by Falana, and Nigerians should stop taking self-centred political activists like him seriously.”

Meanwhile, at the time of this report, Abdulmumin Jibrin, the lawmaker who exposed the budget padding against Speaker Yakubu Dogara and other principal officers, had formally handed petitions to some security agencies.

The post Falana incurs wrath for comments on 2016 padded budget appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Nigerian newspapers 24/7.

loading...