Popular human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has promised to withdraw the N100 million suit he filed against the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) if the body would close all manholes in the nation’s capital.
He made this known on Friday when an FCDA team led by General Counsel and Secretary, Legal Services at the secretariat, Mohammed Umar, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
The authority team had visited the legal luminary to apologise for the injury he sustained in an open manhole managed by the FCDA and appeal for the withdrawal of a suit Falana filed at an FCT High Court in November demanding N100 million in damages.
In the suit, Falana claimed that he fell into an open manhole managed by the FCDA in the Maitama area of the city in October and broke his leg, which caused him to walk with the aid of crutches for weeks and incur over N200,000 in medical expenses at the National Hospital, Abuja.
He prayed the court to order the FCDA to repay his medical bills and pay him N100 million in damages.
The FCDA team which sympathised with the lawyer blamed the activities of vandals for the open manhole.
The team said the manholes used to be covered but were now uncovered because of the nefarious activities of vandals and other criminal elements.
However, Falana blamed the authority for not arresting anyone in connection with the vandalism and not fashioning a way to protect innocent people from falling into the manholes.
He promised to withdraw the suit when the FCDA covers all open manholes in the city.