Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has threatened to drag the Federal Government to court over the allocation of newly built luxury houses to judges in Abuja’s Katampe district, describing the exercise as discriminatory, illegal and a violation of the constitutional principle of equality.
Speaking in a video shared by NewsCentral on Thursday, Falana questioned the legal basis for the Federal Government’s decision to hand over the houses exclusively to judges while other categories of public servants, including university lecturers and career civil servants, received no similar benefits.
Falana sues FG over judges’ houses
Falana said he was saddened after watching the televised handover ceremony, insisting that although judges deserve decent accommodation to perform their duties effectively, the government must not single them out for special treatment while neglecting other public servants.
“We have got to a stage in the country where we need to challenge the special privileges given to the rich and top public officers in the country,” he said.
“Yesterday, I was watching the telly, I was very sad when I saw that the federal government was handing over the keys of houses to judges, and I asked myself under what law we are operating from, because it’s discriminatory and illegal. You must treat us equally in our country.”
Falana clarified that his criticism was not directed at judges receiving official accommodation but at what he described as unequal treatment by the government.
“You can’t take out judges. Judges are entitled to accommodation, by the way. They must live comfortably; they must work securely, but other citizens must be equally provided for,” he added.
The senior lawyer warned that the matter would soon be tested in court, maintaining that government policies must comply with the constitutional principle of equality before the law.
“If you don’t do it, you can be challenged, and that is going to happen very soon, because what is good for the goose is good for the gander,” he stated.
Falana also cited the plight of university professors, arguing that despite their vital contributions to national development, many are poorly paid and lack access to official housing.
According to him, lecturers who previously benefited from staff quarters now struggle to find accommodation due to inadequate housing facilities.
He further criticised the benefits enjoyed by former governors now serving as lawmakers, claiming that many continue to receive legislative salaries and allowances while retaining housing entitlements in their respective states and Abuja.
“Governors who are in the National Assembly, about 21 of them, are taking salaries from the National Assembly and jumbo allowances, and they are also entitled to a house in the state where they govern for four or eight years, and another house in Abuja. And you have a civil servant who has worked for 35 years, and he’s just turned out at the end of the day,” Falana said.
He insisted that the government must uphold fairness in the distribution of public resources and ensure that all citizens are treated equally under the law.
The housing project forms part of the Federal Capital Territory Administration’s initiative under Minister Nyesom Wike to construct 40 residential units for judges in the Katampe district of Abuja. Previous batches of the houses have been commissioned by President Bola Tinubu for judges of the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal.
Wike had explained that the houses would be allocated on an owner-occupier basis, subject to the approval of President Tinubu.
However, the initiative has continued to generate controversy, with critics arguing that the allocation of luxury homes to serving judges could create perceptions of undue influence and compromise judicial independence. Falana’s planned legal challenge is expected to further intensify the debate over the propriety and legality of the government’s housing policy for judicial officers.
