Court orders Abuja protesters to restrict demonstrations to stadium

The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, has ordered protesters to limit their demonstrations to the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja, less than 24 hours before the kick-off of a nationwide anti-government protest on Thursday.

For weeks, there has been an intense online mobilisation for the protest against President Bola Tinubu’s handling of the economy, which has been blamed for the deepening hardship many citizens are grappling with.

The organisers tagged the planned demonstration as the #EndBadGovernance protest.

For those participating in the protest, the FCT High Court ordered on Wednesday that they “are restrained by an order of interim injunction from gathering in any other place” in the federal capital pending a further hearing.

Judge Sylvanus Oriji, who gave the ruling at the instance of the Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike, a vocal opponent of the planned demonstrations, also restrained the protesters “from preventing residents in the FCT, Abuja, from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movement and from destroying or vandalising properties or public facilities”.

Mr Wike applied for the orders through an ex parte motion on Wednesday, less than a week after threatening that the federal capital was not available for protest.

READ ALSO: #EndBadGovernance: One year not enough to solve Nigeria’s problem – Akpabio tells protesters

The judge also granted the minister’s prayer for an order directing the police and other security agencies to provide the protesters “adequate protection within the Moshood Abiola Stadium Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, throughout the period of the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024”.

Mr Oriji, who recognised the protesters’ right to protest peacefully, ordered Mr Wike to serve the filings on the defendants/respondents through a substituted means by publishing them in a newspaper “and print media”.

It could not be ascertained if the defendants would be served with the court before the protest begins tomorrow.

The judge fixed further hearing in the case for 13 August, three days before the protest was billed to have ended.

Ex parte order against Sowore and unknown persons

On Wednesday, Mr Wike’s legal team, led by Onoja Ugwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, requested the orders through an ex parte application.

The judge heard the application in the absence of the respondents on Wednesday. Courts have the power to hear applications filed as ex-parte motions in the absence of adversarial parties. They can also use their discretion to direct the applicant to put the other parties on notice should they consider the issue to be contentious.

Chief among the respondents is a prominent activist, Omoyele Sowore, who leads a bloc of protesters styled as the ”Take It Back” movement.

They also include a key figure of the ”Take It Back” movement, Damilare Adenola.

The respondents also include Adama Ukpabi and Tosin Harsogba, both representing the Active Citizens Group.

The fifth respondent, named persons unknown, appears to be listed to capture as many people as possible who will join the protest in Abuja.

The rest of the respondents are the security agencies the court ordered to protect the protesters in the national stadium in Abuja.

They are the Inspector-General of Police, the Commissioner of Police in the FCT, the Director of the Security State Service (SSS), the Director General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief Naval Staff.

Protest and countermoves

Organisers said they mobilised for the protest to pressure Mr Tinubu’s administration to address its policies, which are bringing hardship to many Nigerians.

Costs of living attributable to last year’s removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the naira by the government have skyrocketed since Mr Tinubu’s administration came on board last year.

The president and top aides, including Mr Wike, have discouraged the hardly known protest organisers to shelve the protest plan.

Many groups who are either afraid that the protest could turn violent or are convinced by the government’s assurances of its commitment to addressing the protesters’ concerns have also joined Mr Tinubu’sTinubu’s administration’s call to cancel the demonstrations.

On Wednesday, the eve of the protest, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, appealed to the protest organisers to pull back.

Here are the orders given by the court in full.

In the light of the above, the court considers it appropriate and expedient to grant an order under the omnibus or general prayer to ensure that the rights of the protesters are guaranteed and that the protest does not negatively or adversely affect the rights of other citizens to move about and to ensure that properties and other public facilities are not destroyed.

The court hereby makes the following orders:

1). Leave is granted to the claimant/ applicant to serve the originating processes (Writ of Summons) and all subsequent processes in this suit on the defendants/respondents by substituted means to wit: through newspaper publications and print media.

2). The 1st to 5th defendants/respondents, while embarking on the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024 in exercise of their constitutional rights are to use the Moshood Abiola Stadium in the Federal Capital Territory Abuja only and are restrained by an Order of Interim Injunction from gathering in any other place pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

3). The 1st to 5th defendants/respondents while embarking on the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024 are restrained by an Order of Interim Injunction from preventing residents in the FCT, Abuja, from exercising their constitutional right to freedom of movement and from destroying or vandalizing properties or public facilities pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

4). The 1st to 5th defendants/Respondents are directed to give the 1st to 5th defendants/ Respondents adequate protection within the Moshood Abiola Stadium Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, throughout the period of the planned protest from 1/8/2024 to 10/8/2024 pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.

5). The Motion on Notice for order of interlocutory injunction with motion No. M/1129/2024 is fixed for hearing on 13/8/2024.