Falana Accuses Weah Of Undermining Liberia’s Judiciary, Faults NBA Invitation – The Whistler Newspaper

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for inviting former Liberian President George Weah to speak at its annual general conference.

Falana accused Weah’s administration of undermining judicial independence and disregarding judgments of the ECOWAS Court during his tenure as Liberia’s president between 2018 and 2024.

The senior lawyer spoke in a video posted on the NBA’s YouTube channel on Monday, a day after Weah delivered the keynote address at the NBA’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Falana urged the leadership of the NBA to stop inviting what he described as dictators to address Nigerian lawyers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m delighted to be here. But let me say this, because you know I have to be frank with the audience. And this goes for the leadership of the Bar.

“I want to appeal that the Bar Association must stop—stop inviting dictators in Africa to come and address us,” Falana said.
He alleged that Weah’s government “captured” the Liberian judiciary to such an extent that citizens were forced to seek justice at the ECOWAS Court.

“Mr. Weah, George Weah, who was here yesterday and was talking about the judiciary: in his country, his regime captured the judiciary to the extent that they had to contact some of us outside the country to get legal redress in the ECOWAS Court,” he said.

Falana cited the case involving the Mandingo people of Liberia, whose landed properties were allegedly seized during the country’s civil war.

According to him, the ECOWAS Court ruled in favour of the affected people but Weah allegedly refused to enforce the judgment.

“The ECOWAS Court gave them judgment. George Weah refused to comply with the judgment. The new government of Boakai has just set up a committee for the enforcement of that judgment,” he said.

The SAN also referenced the case of an associate justice of the Supreme Court of Liberia who, according to him, was removed from office without justification.
Falana said the matter was taken to the ECOWAS Court, which nullified the dismissal, awarded the judge $200,000 and ordered his reinstatement.
Again, he alleged that Weah refused to comply with the regional court’s judgment.

“He was ordered to be reinstated. Mr. George Weah refused to comply with the judgment,” Falana said.

He consequently questioned the decision to invite the former Liberian leader to speak to Nigerian lawyers on democracy, judicial independence and the rule of law.
“Now, that is the man coming here to talk to us about the rule of law and democracy,” he said.

Falana further accused Weah’s administration of allowing drug trafficking to thrive in Liberia, alleging that drug barons became influential during his tenure.

He claimed that Weah’s former Vice President, Edith, was arrested on August 19 and was facing trial over an alleged $370 million drug-trafficking case.
Falana, however, did not provide further details or evidence to substantiate the allegation during the address.

He also criticised Weah over an incident involving his son, Timothée Weah, who represented the United States at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Falana alleged that Weah spent nine days in Qatar supporting his son during the tournament while using Liberian government resources.

He said the NBA should be more selective in choosing African leaders to invite to its conferences, citing female leaders in Namibia and late former Western Region Premier, Obafemi Awolowo, as examples of people he considered worthy of invitation.

Weah, who spoke at the NBA conference on Sunday, had urged lawyers and judges to remain impartial and committed to justice.

The former Liberian president said an independent judiciary, backed by a fearless legal profession, was essential to protecting democracy.

He warned that democracy could not survive on “strong men” but depended on strong institutions.

Weah also condemned governments that present themselves as democratic while engaging in corruption, colluding with judges and manipulating the rule of law.
Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who declared the conference open, similarly called for an independent and courageous judiciary.

Fubara urged judges to uphold the truth and administer justice without being influenced by the status or social connections of litigants.

The 66th NBA Annual General Conference, held in Port Harcourt, was themed “Beyond Limits.”