#EndBadGovernance Protest: Court Refuses To Vacate Restriction Order Against FCT Protesters

An Abuja High Court has refused to vacate an order which restricted #EndBadGovernance protesters in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to the National Stadium, known as Moshood Abiola Stadium, for the purpose of staging protests.

Instead, the vacation court returned the case file to the Chief Judge of the High Court for reassignment to regular courts for adjudication.

The suit was instituted by the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, against #EndBadGovernace Protest led by Omoyele Sowore and others. At yesterday’s proceedings, Justice Sylvanus Oriji had requested explanations from counsel to the FCT minister, George Ibrahim, whether the suit still had life in view of the fact that the August 1 to 10 protests had come and gone.

The counsel in his explanation drew the attention of the judge to a letter written to the FCT minister by the protesters where they asserted that the protest might last longer than August 10.

He also drew the attention of the court to fresh processes filed by Omoyele Sowore and three others, where he alleged that they were still in the mood for another round of protests.

Although Justice Oriji maintained that the order he issued on July 31 in an ex-parte application was for August 1 to 10 protests, 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 three other 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 to read the processes and respond appropriately.

However, counsel to Sowore and three others, Inibehe Effiong did not object to the adjournment request but applied that the restraining order against his clients be discharged. Effiong argued that the life span of the restriction order had lapsed since August 10.