Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has accused the Federal Government and Senate President Godswill Akpabio of repeatedly disobeying court judgments, warning that such actions threaten Nigeria’s democracy.
In a strongly worded statement, Falana said government officials and powerful individuals have continued to disregard judicial decisions, describing the Senate under Akpabio as “the most notorious institution” in undermining the rule of law.
He cited several cases, including the forceful ejection of Comrade Tajudeen Baruwa from the secretariat of the National Union of Road Transport Workers despite his election being upheld by the National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal.
Falana also condemned the Federal Government for failing to implement the Supreme Court ruling granting full autonomy and direct funding to local governments, as well as the Senate’s refusal to obey a Federal High Court order recalling suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan whose six-month suspension was controversially converted to an indefinite one.
He urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately halt what he described as the country’s “inexorable descent into anarchy,” even if it meant suspending his vacation.
“If our advice is ignored, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) must take urgent steps to end this culture of impunity,” Falana said, recalling how the NBA once boycotted courts in 1987 to compel the military regime of Ibrahim Babangida to respect a single court order.
The senior lawyer warned that Nigeria’s Fourth Republic risked collapse due to abuse of power, corruption, and judicial capture, lamenting that election riggers now taunt citizens to “go to court,” confident that outcomes will favour them.
