Nigerian lawyer Femi Falana is part of Alex Saab's defense team. File photo.
Mr Falana tells President Fonseca of Cape Verde to show that his words are not just platitudes on the occasion of ECOWAS Day.
Nigerian human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has charged the President of Cape Verde, Jorge Fonseca, to follow what he âpreachesâ on West African integration.
Mr Falana raised this charge against the background of perceived duplicity in Mr Fonsecaâs call for West African integration compared with his governmentâs refusal to respect the ECOWAS Courtâs judgment ordering the release of the arbitrarily detained Venezuelan diplomat, Alex Saab.
The human rights advocate, who leads Mr Saabâs legal defense team at the ECOWAS Court, spoke barely 24 hours after the Cape Verdeâs president reaffirmed what he called the âfirm willâ of his country to intensify regional integration.
Mr Fonseca sought increase in âvirtuous forms of movement of persons and goodsâ in his message to Nana Akufo-Ado, chairman of ECOWAS heads of states, in celebration of the 46th anniversary of the creation of the regional community.
Aside from garnering prominence in Nigerian media space over the controversial detention of Mr Saab, the West African archipelago country recently also made headlines for âunjustlyâ barring three Nigerians from entry into the country while allowing white foreign travelers in.
Premium TImes also reported on complaints of unfair treatment by Nigerians living in Cape Verde.
Reacting to this, Mr Falana, in a statement to Premium Times, expressed skepticism over Mr Fonsecaâs comment, which he described as a possible platitude on the occasion of ECOWAS Day.
âI can only hope that Cape Verde will practice what it preaches. President Fonseca can show that his words are not just platitudes on the occasion of ECOWAS Day by ensuring that Prime Minister Ulisses Correia and his ministers start respecting all of the institutions of ECOWAS,â Mr Saabâs defense counsel said.
Featured image: Nigerian lawyer Femi Falana is part of the legal defense team of Alex Saab, Venezuelan diplomat detained in Cape Verde and facing extradition to the US. File photo.
(Premium Times) by Samson Adenekan
