Judge Limits Lagos Protests to Freedom,Peace Park
Legal counsel for the state, Lawal Pedro, has petitioned the Lagos High Court ex parte to exclude all venues save Ojota’s Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park and Ketu’s Peace Park from the planned August 1 national demonstration in Lagos.
The preemptive remedy order was given by Justice Emmanuel Ogundare in the form of an interim injunction. This order restricts the defendants from gathering and carrying out the planned protests in Lagos from August 1st to the 10th, save in the two designated areas from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Active Citizens Group’s Adamma Ukpabi and Tosin Harsogba, the Take It Back Movement’s Comrade Juwon Sanyaolu and Hassan Soweto, individuals whose identities are unknown, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, and others are named as defendants in the application.
In his application to the court, the Attorney General stated that, as the state’s top lawyer and having received notifications from various groups both in favour and against the nationwide protest, he feels obligated to take action to safeguard the state’s vital infrastructure and avert a repeat of the tragic loss of life and property that occurred during the EndSARS demonstration in 2020.
Additionally, Pedro insisted that the state’s police force is understaffed and ill-equipped to protect the demonstrators who intended to use public highways and other state-accessible locations to hold their demonstrations.
In addition, he stated that criminals who are willing to break the law and destroy property in different parts of the state should not be allowed to take over public demonstrations that are supposed to be against alleged poor government.
Pedro says that “In recognition of the citizens’ fundamental right to stage a public protest against government policies and actions while preventing unlawful destruction of lives and properties in the process, the Lagos State Government has designated two public spaces and locations in the state where citizens can meet and converge to protest or express their displeasure against government.” Peace Park in Ketu, Lagos State, and Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota, Lagos State, are the sites.
If approved, the plot to stage protests in every public place for ten days, including state highways, local government councils, and other open locations, would constitute economic sabotage.
“In this particular case, a court order is necessary to safeguard the basic rights of the first through fifth defendants/respondents to peacefully protest, as well as the right of other residents who are opposed to the protest to lawfully go about their business without interference, disruption, or damage to public buildings or properties.”
Justice Ogundare entertained his reasoning and ultimately granted all of the requested reliefs.