On Tuesday, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, presided over by Justice Sylvanus Oriji, extended an injunction that confines participants in the #EndBadGovernance protest to the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
The extension was granted following a motion filed by Dr. Ogwu James Onoja (SAN) on behalf of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
Notably, the 11 defendants in the case were neither present in court nor represented by legal counsel during the proceedings. The FCT minister’s legal representative cited a statement by one Damilare Adenola, which hinted that the nationwide protests could potentially extend beyond the initially planned 10 days.
Given the uncertainty regarding the defendants’ intentions and their absence from the court, the counsel argued that it was necessary to prolong the injunction to ensure peace and order within the FCT. Justice Oriji agreed, extending the order initially issued on July 31, 2024, and scheduled the hearing of the motion on notice for August 22, 2024.
Previously, on July 31, Justice Oriji had granted an ex-parte application submitted by Onoja on behalf of the FCT Minister. This application sought an interim injunction to prevent five leaders of the protesting groups from assembling or demonstrating on any roads, streets, offices, or public premises within the FCT from August 1 to August 10, or until the motion on notice is fully heard and resolved.
Additionally, the court issued another interim injunction directing security agencies to prevent these protest leaders from gathering or demonstrating in public spaces within the FCT during the specified period.
The Minister emphasized that while the Federal Government does not oppose the protest, intelligence and security reports indicated that certain elements within the protest leadership might exploit the demonstrations to incite chaos, cause irreparable damage to public property, block roads, impede the movement of people and vehicles, and disrupt public order.
