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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has defended Nyesom Wike’s membership of the Body of Benchers, asserting it was earned through significant contributions to legal education infrastructure, not courtroom achievements.
In a statement responding to criticism from human rights lawyer Femi Falana, Olayinka said, “The Body of Benchers itself honoured Wike as a ‘worthy ambassador’ for his tangible contributions to the judiciary, not courtroom theatrics.”
He cited a March visit by the Body of Benchers, led by Chairman Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, who praised Wike’s “interventions in judicial welfare” and infrastructure projects in Rivers State and Abuja.
Falana had claimed Wike was Nigeria’s only life bencher without a courtroom record, responding to Wike’s accusation that Falana misrepresented a Supreme Court ruling on the defection of 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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In a statement titled “How many major cases did you win to become SAN?”, Olayinka challenged Falana to list his major case victories and contributions to the legal profession that justified his Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) title, describing him as an “arrangee and errand lawyer”. He said, “It is funny and ridiculous that in the mind of Falana, only those who have handled cases in trial court or appellate court are lawyers, and that a lawyer must have handled cases in trial or appellate court to be qualified for appointment as a Life Bencher.”
Olayinka highlighted Wike’s contributions, stating, “As Governor of Rivers State, Wike was instrumental to the establishment and infrastructural development of the campus of the Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt, which is the best centre for legal education in Nigeria today. He also played major roles in the development of facilities at the Yenagoa campus of the Nigerian Law School by constructing a state-of-the-art 1,500-capacity hall and 200-bed male and female hostels, among other interventions.” He added that, as FCT Minister, Wike is constructing a 10-unit housing quarter for the Nigerian Law School in Bwari, Abuja, and has provided operational vehicles to enhance its operations. Olayinka questioned Falana’s contributions, saying, “Apart from going on television to make noise, what has Falana contributed to the legal profession? Even the SAN that he got was it not an afterthought? Was it not years after his mates had gotten SAN?”
Olayinka contrasted Wike’s achievements with Falana’s record, noting that in Ekiti State, Aare Afe Babalola and Chief Wole Olanipekun built Bar Centres, while Babalola has sponsored Nigerian Bar Association lectures and provided medical assistance to lawyers. He asked, “The question is, what has Falana done for the legal profession? Even in Ekiti State, where he is from, he has not contributed anything?” He also referenced Falana’s unsuccessful gubernatorial candidacy in Ekiti, stating, “Did Falana not fail as a politician when he went to Ekiti to contest for governor and failed woefully?”
On the Rivers defection crisis, Olayinka accused Falana of misleading clients by claiming the Supreme Court’s ruling did not address the defection, despite a Federal High Court dismissal of a related suit based on the Supreme Court’s decision. He said: “The same Falana said three members of the Rivers State House of Assembly can carry out legislative functions despite the provision of Section 96 (1) of the 1999 Constitution that ‘The quorum of a House of Assembly shall be one-third of all the members of the House.’”
Olayinka questioned Falana’s SAN credentials, asking, “If as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, you could tell your client that Section 96 (1) of the Constitution of Nigeria is useless and in a House of Assembly of 32 members, three can sit, questions need to be asked as to how exactly you qualified as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.”
