‘Your Anticorruption War is not Genuine’ – Falana Tells Buhari

‘Your Anticorruption War is not Genuine’ – Falana Tells Buhari

A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of double standards in his much-vaunted fight against corruption.

Falana said this at the third annual registry lecture series of Elizade University, Ilara-Mokin, where he spoke on “University Autonomy in Nigeria: Prospects and Challenges”.

He condemned the Federal Government and the Attorney General’s attitude to herdsmen’s killings in the country, and said government must do more on workers’ welfare, Guardian writes.

“If you are genuinely fighting corruption, you must put in place mechanisms and measure to discourage people from embracing the act.

“There is no way that you pay people starvation wages, or make it impossible for them to receive their pensions and gratuities when they retire, and expect that they will not engage in corrupt practices,” he said.

Though he noted that since 1999, the Buhari’s administration has fought corruption more than previous ones, he however described the anti-corruption war as “attempt to recover some looted wealth.”

The rights activist tasked government to address the menace of herdsmen’s killings, and prosecute those involved on illegal possession of firearms.

He argued that the killer herdsmen have no licence for the arms that they carry, hence they must be charged for culpable homicide, murder, kidnapping, and armed robbery.

Falana also flayed Buhari for disobeying court orders, particularly in the cases of Col. Dasuki Sambo, Sheik Ibrahim Zakzaky, his wife and one detained journalist.

“Disobedience to court order is alien to democratic practice. It is more painful to me than most Nigerian lawyers, because I got court orders obeyed under the military regimes, including the Buhari-Idiagbon junta.”