FCDA Officials Visit Falana, Begs Him to Drop N100m Suit Over Manholes

Officials of the Federal Capital Development Authority in Abuja on Friday paid a courtesy visit to human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), according to a report by Punch.

The FCDA officials were led by General Counsel/ Secretary, Legal Services at the secretariat, Mohammed Umar. He appealed to Falana to drop the N100m suit he filed against the FCDA at an FCT High Court about four weeks ago.


Falana had dragged FCDA to court after he fell into an open manhole and broke his leg, after which he had to walk with the aid of a walking stick for weeks.

According to the suit marked CV/0248/17, Falana is also asking for a refund of his medical expenses during his stay at the National Hospital, Abuja, which he said cost over N200,000.

While sympathising with the human rights lawyer, the FCDA officials appealed to him to drop the suit.

The officials explained that the manholes used to be covered, but the covers were stolen by unidentified criminals.

Falana, however, blamed the FCDA authorities for not arresting anybody and also for failing to put in place a mechanism that would ensure that innocent persons do not sustain injuries due to the manholes.

He told the officials that he would withdraw the suit if they cover all the exposed manholes in the FCT to prevent similar accidents, which they promised to do.

Falana thanked the FCT minister for the visit, which he described as a demonstration of responsive and responsible governance.