Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana
(SAN), has threatened a legal action against the Dangote Group of
Companies, owned by the billionaire business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, over
alleged infringement on peoples’ rights.
While Falana disclosed that Dangote’s
companies would be sued for the alleged killings of innocent Nigerians in
various accidents across the country, he added that oil companies would be sued
for not paying compensations to some communities where they operate.
Addressing journalists in his home
town, Ilawe-Ekiti in Ekiti State at the weekend, Falana expressed
disappointment on how the Dangote’s trucks have been killing innocent Nigerians
on the highways without a challenge from the Federal Government.
He frowned at the way the company
would deny the families of the victims adequate compensations, after killing
their bread winners, describing it as a flagrant abuse of the peoples’ rights.
“It is no gainsaying that Dangote
companies have killed many innocent Nigerians across the country in one
accident or the other. I don’t have any grudge against any company plying
its trade in Nigeria, but you cannot kill any human being and go scot free
without paying compensations,” he said.
“We have received series of
complaints from Nigerians about how their families are being cheated by some of
these companies after their beloved ones had been killed.
“We
will no longer tolerate this and steps must be taken to ensure that such
families are compensated,” Falana said.
He said a team of lawyers, headed by
himself and former President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa
Agbakoba (SAN) is currently fine-tuning arrangements on these barrage of
litigations , which he said were intended to correct some perceived social-ills
in the country.