Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has challenged the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to cite any law that empowers him to declare a public holiday or restrict the movement of citizens during the just concluded FCT area council election.
Falana insisted that the minister lacked the power to declare a public holiday or restrict the movement of residents of the FCT.
The legal luminary had, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, faulted Wike over the public holiday declared ahead of the Saturday poll, arguing that the minister lacked the authority to do so.
He pointed out that only the President, the Minister of Interior and governors were empowered by law to declare federal or state holidays.
However, Wike, while speaking with journalists in Abuja on Sunday, cautioned Falana against commenting on every issue, advising the SAN to always verify and get his facts right before making public remarks.
The minister explained that he had the President’s approval to restrict movement based on a security report that some individuals were planning to bring hoodlums into the FCT.
But Falana, in a statement shared with our correspondent on Monday, dismissed Wike’s defence, insisting that the minister’s action was illegal.
