Court Refuses to Vacate Order Restricting Bad Governance Protesters to Stadium

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Sylvanus Oriji of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, on Wednesday, refused to vacate his earlier order restricting the bad governance and hunger protesters in the FCT to the Moshood Abiola Stadium.

Justice Oriji, who refused the request made by defendants in the suit filed by the Minister of the FCT however opted to return the case file to the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court for re-assignment to a regular court for adjudication.

The judge had on July 31, 2024 restricted the protesters to the National Stadium while acting as a vacation judge.

The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had dragged Omoyele Sowore and other #Endbadgovernance to court, seeking to stop the August 1 to 10 nationwide protest but the court, which recognized the rights to protest, ordered that the protest should be held inside the National Stadium to prevent chaos, as well as wanton destruction of lives and properties.

At Wednesday’s proceedings, Justice Oriji requested explanations from the counsel to the FCT minister, George Ibrahim, whether the suit still had life in view of the fact that the August 1st to 10th protest had come and gone.

Responding, Ibrahim drew the attention of the court to a letter written to the FCT minister by the protesters where they asserted that the protest might last longer than August 10.

The lawyer also drew the attention of the court to fresh processes filed by Sowore and three others where he claimed that they were still in the mood for another round of protest.

Although Justice Oriji maintained that the order he issued on July 31 in an ex-parte application was for August 1st to 10th protest, the FCT minister said that it would be in the interest of peace for the order to last till the hearing and determination of his motion on notice.

The lawyer informed the court that Sowore and other three defendants through their lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, served him four different voluminous processes on September 2 and that the processes were contentious.

He requested an adjournment to enable him read the processes and respond appropriately.

Effiong, who did not object to the request for adjournment, however urged the court to vacate its order restraining the protesters to the National Stadium, pointing out that the life span of the order had lapsed since August 10.

Reacting, the judge reminded the lawyers that the FCT court’s vacation would end on September 13, and as such would not be able to fully determine the matter in the remaining few days, adding that the proper thing in the circumstances was to refer the case file to the chief judge to be re-assigned to any of the normal courts.

He consequently ordered that the case file be made available to the chief judge for the matter to be heard after vacation.

Apart from Sowore, Adenola, Adama Ukpabi and Tosin Harshiogbe, other defendants in the suit are persons unknown, the Inspector General (IG) of Police, Commissioner of Police, Director General of the State Security Service, Director General, Nigeria Civil Defence Corps, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air staff, Chief of Naval Staff as first to 12 respondents.