Femi Falana responds to Cape Verde president's ECOWAS integration call

Femi Falana, SAN, a lead lawyer for embattled Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab has reacted to a statement by Cape Verde president, Jorge Carlos Fonseca on his country's hope to densify regional integration.

The lawyer said Cape Verde must go beyond the rhetoric and take practical steps to prove its desire for such.

Falana said the president's first step can be to respect the West African court's decision in the case involving Alex Saab.

The court on March 15, 2021, ruled that Alex Saab who has been detained in Cape Verde since June 2020 to be released and compensated but the West African country is yet to comply.

On May 28, 2021, ECOWAS Day was marked and on that occasion, President Jorge Carlos Fonseca said it was Cape Verde's "firm desire to densify regional integration, seeking increasingly virtuous forms of movement of persons and goods, technical and economic convergence."

For him, the celebration of the day presents an opportunity to reflect on happenings within the sub-region and "increase the effectiveness of our strategies to strengthen democracy, rule of law, integration and development."

Mr Jorge Carlos Fonseca also referred to the defence of the values of peace, freedom and democracy in the interests of the harmonious economic and social development of the countries of the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS).

But Femi Falana in response to the statement said, "I can only hope that Cabo Verde will practice what it preaches. President Fonseca can show that his words are not just platitudes on the occasion of ECOWAS Dayby ensuring that Prime Minister Ulisses Correia and his ministers start respecting all of the institutions of ECOWAS. Cabo Verde has, in the matter of H.E. Alex Saab, shown nothing but disdain and disrespect for the jurisdiction of the ECOWAS Court of Justice and the binding nature of its decisions."

Femi Falana and other defence team members of Alex Saab are still pursuing legal proceedings to get Cape Verde to release their client and stop processes for his extradition to the US to face charges of alleged corruption.