Nigerian rapper Falz disclosed that, contrary to popular belief, he was not ‘pressured’ to study law because of his father’s success in the industry.
During an interview with Chude Jideonwo for the With Chude podcast, he revealed that growing up, he was inspired by the individuals his father, Femi Falana SAN, touched and fought for.
He said, “I won’t say it was pressure but when I was super young, it was like, ‘These people have to be something’ because I was already getting that reaction everywhere I went. And if I ever mentioned my name, people would be like, ‘Which Falana? Is it Femi Falana? Oh wow.'”
He expressed admiration for their father, highlighting how the father had a significant impact on others’ lives.
“Everyone sort of had a story about how my dad came to their aid at some point in time and how he fought for them and was there for them. At that time it was me taking everything in, like, ‘this is something’. So at that point in time, I wasn’t pressured; I aspired to emulate what he was doing,” he added.
This acknowledgement had a lasting impact on him, and he resolved to study law on his own, even if he only practised for a brief time.
“I did practice law for a short period of time. Very short, almost two years. I worked at the Ministry of Justice during my youth service, which was like 2012 or so, then in 2013 I was at my father’s firm and 2014 was when things started to pick up for me so I started going out of practice,” he added in between laughter.
In a previous report, Falz and his dad Femi Falana, a human rights activist and lawyer sought a public apology and retraction of defamatory words made by popular crossdresser Idris Okuneye, also known as Bobrisky, in audio recordings circulating online.
In one of the audios leaked by controversial media critic Martin Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, Bobrisky said that he spoke with Falz and asked for his help in convincing his father (Falana) to help gain a presidential pardon, which supposedly cost N10 million.
The crossdresser further claimed that he requested Falz for N3 million to get special treatment in Kirikiri Correctional Centre.
In another audio clip supplied by VeryDarkMan, Bobrisky claimed to have paid N5 million upfront to a Senior Advocate of Nigeria in order to obtain a Federal Government pardon for accusations brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
In a letter dated October 14, 2024, from Falana’s legal representatives, Olorunfemi Akinyemi and Taiwo E. Olawanle, Bobrisky was accused of making false and defamatory statements regarding Falana and his son’s alleged involvement in bribery and a pardon.
Bobrisky’s charges, according to the legal team, are completely false and harm Falana’s reputation. They wanted a complete retraction and apology, which would be published on all sites where the words were spread.
By Adiele C.
