Falana: I was abused for rejecting N405m bribe from a governor

Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, has opened up on how some of his colleagues felt he was “stupid” because he rejected a N405 million money laundering deal from an unnamed governor.

Falana explained that the governor confessed that he decided to choose the lawyer because “nobody will suspect you”.

He said his colleagues who accepted the offer were later arrested and humiliated.

Falana revealed this in the current edition of ALERT, a monthly pull-out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

“The governor asked me to assist him in transferring money abroad, and that I should claim it to be proceeds from sale of his property in Nigeria. And the price was extremely attractive,” he said.

“He was going to pay me a million pounds then, when money was money. The governor said he had chosen me for the shady deal, because ‘nobody will suspect you.’ And I told him, ‘Your Excellency, so it is my reputation that you want to buy with your one million pounds?’

“Some of my colleagues thought I was stupid, but those who accepted the offer later found themselves in trouble, as they were arrested and humiliated. They were only lucky not to have been charged to court.

“Lawyers have a paramount role to play in the fight against economic and financial crimes, as they are the ones usually employed by well-heeled members of the society to help perfect documents for illicit transactions, and to cover up their tracks.”