A Lagos High Court, Nigeria has granted an ex-parte application filed by the State’s Attorney General, Lawal Pedro, SAN, restricting the proposed August 1 nationwide protests in Lagos to two specific locations: the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park in Ojota and the Peace Park in Ketu. The court order limits the protests to these areas from 8 AM to 6 PM from August 1 to August 10.
Justice Emmanuel Ogundare granted the interim injunction to prevent the protests from taking place in multiple locations across Lagos. The defendants in the application include representatives from the Active Citizens Group, the Take it Back Movement, unknown persons, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police.
Attorney General Pedro argued that the restriction is necessary to prevent the protest from being hijacked by hoodlums, which could result in law and order breaches and property destruction, as experienced during the EndSARS protests in 2020. He emphasized that the state’s police force lacks sufficient manpower to secure multiple protest locations.
Pedro highlighted the state’s commitment to respecting citizens’ rights to protest while ensuring the protection of lives and properties. He asserted that allowing protests in all local government councils and public highways could amount to economic sabotage by shutting down the state for 10 days.
Justice Ogundare, after considering Pedro’s arguments, granted all the reliefs sought in the application, thereby restricting the protests to the designated locations.
