Lagos, Nigeria – Nigerian human rights lawyer Femi Falana threatened on Thursday, July 16, 2026 to challenge the Federal Government of Nigeria in court over the handover of newly built luxury houses to judges in the Katampe district of Abuja.
Okay News reports that Femi Falana faulted the government in a video broadcast by NewsCentral for extending exclusive housing benefits to judges while excluding other categories of 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,” he said.
The lawyer clarified that his objection was to the unequal treatment of other public servants rather than the provision of accommodation for the judiciary.
“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 said.
He cited university lecturers and retiring civil servants as examples of workers who lack adequate housing provisions, noting the contrast with former governors currently in Nigeria’s legislative body.
“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,” he said.
The housing project is an initiative by the Federal Capital Territory Administration under Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to construct 40 judges’ quarters, with initial units commissioned by Nigeria’s President, Bola Tinubu.
