Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has called on security agencies and prosecutors to ensure that several controversial murder and homicide cases involving influential Nigerians are thoroughly investigated and prosecuted.
Falana, speaking on behalf of the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 & Beyond, alleged that many murder cases linked to politically exposed persons are often mishandled or deliberately weakened to secure acquittals for suspects.
According to him, cases involving members of the ruling class and highly connected individuals are frequently covered up, while prosecutions are intentionally bungled to frustrate justice.
The senior lawyer specifically referenced the 2018 Offa bank robbery attack in Offa, where 33 people, including nine police officers, were killed during coordinated attacks on banks and a police station.
Falana said the case had regained public attention following a civil suit filed by victims’ families and fresh criminal charges reportedly initiated by the Kwara State Government. He urged all parties involved to allow the legal process to proceed without interference.
He also demanded a fresh investigation into the disappearance of lecturer and government critic Abubakar Idris Dadiyata, who was abducted from his residence in Kaduna in 2019.
Falana referenced recent allegations involving former Kaduna governor Nasir El-Rufai and former Kano governor Abdullahi Ganduje over claims surrounding Dadiyata’s disappearance.
He urged the Nigeria Police Force and the Department of State Services to investigate all individuals allegedly connected to the matter, including security operatives and politicians.
Falana further raised concerns over the killing of six traders during a land dispute at the Owode-Onirin Motor Spare Parts Market in Lagos in August 2025.
The deceased traders were identified as Seyi Akinboye, Adeoye Taiwo, Dare Mufutau, Aderemi Hakeem, Abraham Temoola and Wale Adebayo.
Although four policemen accused in the shooting were reportedly freed after legal advice suggested they acted in self-defence, Falana said new ballistic and post-mortem evidence had since emerged and should prompt a review of the case by the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.
The legal activist also called for accountability in alleged violent incidents linked to land disputes in the Ajiran community and demanded justice over the death of Chief Lukman Ojora Arounfale, popularly known as the Baba Oba of Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina.
