Femi Falana

Femi Falana is a Nigerian lawyer and human-rights advocate known for civil-liberties and public-interest litigation. A Senior Advocate of Nigeria since 2012, he has represented clients before Nigerian and ECOWAS courts, led the West African Bar Association and worked through Falana & Falana Chambers.

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About Femi Falana

Profile information current to 2026-08-22.

Nigeria · Lawyer, Human-rights advocate · 2 affiliations

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Known for: Human-rights law and advocacy; Civil-liberties and public-interest litigation; ECOWAS Court litigation
Country: Nigeria

Lawyer
Human-rights advocate

At a glance

Falana was sworn in as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria on September 12, 2012.
His professional record centers on human-rights, civil-liberties and public-interest law.
The 2008 ECOWAS Court judgment in Manneh v. Gambia records Falana as counsel for plaintiff Chief Ebrimah Manneh.
Institutional biographies identify Falana as a former president of the West African Bar Association.

Legal education and practice

Born in Ilawe-Ekiti on May 20, 1958, Falana obtained a law degree from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, in 1981. He completed Nigerian Law School training and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982. Institutional biographies state that he established his own chambers in 1991, and the firm’s biography lists him as Principal Partner of Falana & Falana Chambers as of August 22, 2026.

Human-rights advocacy and litigation

Falana’s documented work includes civil-liberties and public-interest litigation in Nigeria and before the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice. In Manneh v. Gambia, decided on June 5, 2008, the court’s judgment recorded him as counsel for plaintiff Chief Ebrimah Manneh. United Nations records also place Falana among Nigerian activists subjected to detention: one report recorded allegations concerning his arrest in May 1992, while a separate Working Group decision found his July-to-August 1993 detention with other activists to have been arbitrary.

Professional standing and regional leadership

Falana was sworn in as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria on September 12, 2012. Biographical sources also identify him as a former president of the West African Bar Association, with one reference source dating his election to 2004. A separate 2012 report described him as a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, but that characterization is not corroborated by the other assembled sources.

Affiliations

Falana & Falana Chambers Principal Partner present
West African Bar Association Former president

Timeline

1981 Completed a law degree at the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University.
1982 Called to the Nigerian Bar.
1991 Established his own chambers, subsequently identified as Falana & Falana Chambers.
2004 The Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation records his election as president of the West African Bar Association.
2008-06-05 Recorded as counsel for the plaintiff in the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice judgment in Manneh v. Gambia.
2012-09-12 Sworn in as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

Additional verified details

Current context

Femi Falana is listed as Principal Partner at Falana & Falana Chambers. Based on the firm's accessible biography and should be rechecked before publication.

Biographical facts

The Nigerian Bar Association biography states that Femi Falana was born on May 20, 1958, in Ilawe-Ekiti, Nigeria.
Falana obtained a law degree from the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, in 1981, completed Nigerian Law School training and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1982.
Institutional biographical sources state that Falana established his own legal chambers in 1991.
Falana was sworn in as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria on September 12, 2012.
In Manneh v. Gambia, decided by the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice on June 5, 2008, the judgment records Femi Falana as counsel for plaintiff Chief Ebrimah Manneh.
A 1994 United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention report recorded allegations that Falana was arrested without a warrant in Lagos on May 19, 1992, in connection with political, legal, civic and human-rights activities; the report noted that the Nigerian government had not provided information in response to the communication.
A United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention decision adopted on December 10, 1993, found that the July-to-August 1993 detention of Falana and other named Nigerian activists was arbitrary.