How I Secured Compensation For My Clients – Femi Falana SAN
The Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, has disclosed how he secured a more favourable compensation for his clients on whose land solid minerals were found.
In an interview with Channels TV, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said in Osun State, the government intended to compensate his client at a rate of 100 naira per hectare of his land in line with the Mineral and Mining Act. He however said he was able to convince the judge at the Federal High Court in Osogbo to order that his client should be compensated 250 million naira after citing section 44 of the Nigerian Constitution.
According to Falana, “I just handled a case in Osun State. Under our Minerals Act, if you are mining gold or solid mineral on my land, what does the law provide? A hundred naira per hectare: an old law. So you are moving me out of my land, I am a farmer, this is where I farm but you said no, get out of the place the government has taken over. We will pay you a hundred naira. So they were going to give our client a total of 150 thousand naira and they came to us and we said don’t worry, we will go to court”.
Speaking further, Falana said “So we went to Federal High Court in Osogbo. The other lawyers said this is what the law provides and I said no, section 44 (1) of the constitution says If you take over my land for public purpose I will be paid a fair and just compensation. The judge awarded 250 million to my client”.
