Falana warns Wike: Sealing embassies could lead to diplomatic crisis for Nigeria

Falana

Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has issued a strong caution to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, against any move to seal embassies or foreign missions in Abuja over unpaid ground rents.

Appearing on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme aired on Monday, Falana stressed that such actions would violate both constitutional and international legal provisions protecting diplomatic premises.

“Embassies and missions cannot be invaded because they have not paid ground rent, which is not applicable for all of them,” Falana said.

His warning follows reports that the FCT Administration, under Wike’s leadership, had named 9,000 property owners, including 34 embassies, as defaulters in ground rent payments, threatening to reclaim the lands.

On May 23, 2025, the FCTA disclosed plans to seal around 5,000 properties over outstanding rent obligations spanning 10 to 43 years. Some structures, including the Peoples Democratic Party’s national secretariat, have already been affected. President Bola Tinubu later intervened, granting a 14-day grace period to enable defaulters to pay up. That grace period expired on Friday, June 6 — which coincided with the Eid-el-Kabir public holiday — leaving the FCT’s next course of action uncertain, with enforcement likely to resume by Tuesday, June 10.

Falana noted that Nigerian courts have repeatedly ruled against sealing properties without following due process.

“As far as the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations is concerned, the premises of any embassy in Abuja are inviolable by Article 22 of the convention,” he stated.

“If we embark on invading the embassy of any country, it’s going to lead to serious diplomatic problems for Nigeria. So, it is not allowed.”

He questioned the legal foundation for the FCT Minister’s directive, describing it as a breach of Nigerian law and international obligations.